Mystery Girl
by whackabee1
Summary: The shyest girl in school has to have a good reason to approach the most popular girl, right? Told entirely from Anna POV, may be a one shot, may be more, depending on requests. Rated K for now, will move to T if the story is continued. Elsanna but not incest. Modern, AU. Fluff now, if the story is carried on it will still be fluffy, not angsty.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this may or may not be a One Shot. I had an idea for this and have more ideas on how to continue this story if you guys want more. If it's more than a one shot, it'll all be Anna POV, and mostly her finding more about Elsa, why she's shy and thin, etc. So, if you would like to see more of this story, let me know and it shall happen!

The writing style is simpler than I normally use, I hope you like it. Read and review, please!

* * *

Anna Summers was one of the best known students at Arendelle High School. With her strawberry blonde hair, cute rounded cheeks and plentiful freckles, she was gorgeous and popular. All the teachers loved her, in fact, everyone loved her. And she was all smiles. Not fake smiles, no, she was nice to _everyone. _Though she mostly hung out with the popular crowd; namely Hans, Rapunzel, and Flynn, she would never trade her less popular friends: Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf for anything.

Even if the latter three were mostly seen as "uncool," Anna didn't care. She was, all in all, a good person with a big heart. She was happy all the time, glad to talk to anyone, outgoing, and bubbly up and down the halls, who didn't want to get to know her?

The red head sat with Hans and Flynn at lunch. It was almost the end of the first semester of school and the annual Winter Ball was coming up. As customary, the boys would do the honor of asking girls to attend with them, and only occasionally would the tables be turned and boys be asked by girls. The three popular friends talked about who they wanted to go with. Flynn was planning on asking Rapunzel when she arrived at lunch, Hans was content and cocky enough to wait for some lass to ask him, and Anna, well, she really didn't know.

She had been asked by numerous people already and turned each one down. Not for dislike of the person, but because she wanted to go with someone that, well, she really _liked._

"Well, the dance is only a week away, so you'd better find someone. Maybe Kristoff. Or me," Hans commented playfully.

Rolling her aquamarine eyes in as exaggerated of a manner as possible, Anna reprimanded "I want to go with someone _special _this year, not a snob like you, and Kristoff is just my friend."

"Whatever you say" Hans offered, holding his hands up in a defensive action.

"Ah, Rapunzel!" Flynn stood as the lady approached. Meeting her by the table, the boy bravely and loudly requested "would you like to attend the Winter Ball with me?"

Emerald eyes glowed brightly in the florescent lighting, sparkling with genuine excitement. "Yes" she squealed, and the two hugged tightly for a moment.

Once the newcomer had taken her seat by Flynn and conversation had once again shifted itself to Anna's un-found dance partner, something peculiar happened. A pale girl who had to be two inches taller than Anna quietly approached, clutching a chemistry textbook tightly over chest as if dropping it would kill her. Her skin seemed almost unhealthily white and she was _very _thin, maybe even edging on dangerously underweight, Anna thought. Shy, sky blue eyes peeked out from behind the textbook, everything on the girl's face from the bridge of her nose downward was now hidden.

She seemed to inhale to say something, the gazes of eight eyes trained on her intently now, all conversation had stopped. Her cheeks colored a deep red and her stare averted itself to the ground. Something was different about this girl. Anna didn't know her. Well, she had seen her around, but didn't know her name or anything about her, which was odd, Anna knew _everyone. Except for her. _

Just then, the clearly shy girl muttered out a rushed "sorry" and ran away, still clutching on to that accursed book. It was then that Anna noticed the color of her hair. White but silver, colorless but full of character, packed into a messy braid that hung over one shoulder. It was like a crown jewel reflecting in the lighting as it bounced to the mystery girl's steps.

"Well that was weird," Flynn offered.

Anna turned to look at her friends. "Who was that?"

Hans answered her. "Elsa, I dunno her last name, but she's super shy."

"Really? I couldn't tell" the red head sarcastically commented.

"I mean like _really _shy. She never answers any questions in class or talks to anyone. Every time someone tries to make conversation with her she just runs away."

"I heard that she has a doctor's note saying that she doesn't have to answer the teachers if they talk to her" Rapunzel gossiped.

Anna took one look back at where the girl had come from, perplexed. There was something about that girl. "What do you think she wanted?"

The next day, Anna was walking into the front of the school, ready to go to her normal morning spot to talk to Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven for a little bit. Out of the corner of her eye, however, she spied an incoming sparkle of easily recognizable hair, and before she knew it, she was face to face with Elsa for a second time.

This time it was just them, only one pair of eyes stared the timid girl down, and this time she wasn't hiding behind a textbook. This time Elsa was clutching her braid, wrapping it around her fingers over and over again, fiddling with it like a lifeline as her mouth opened. Then closed. Her face was already tinted pick, but grew warmer looking, a rosy red fading into the pale skin around it. It was then that Anna noticed her freckles, just barely dusting the skin, which Anna had to admit, looked flawless.

Elsa's mouth opened once again and she inhaled. For a split second, Anna got excited, but that was swiftly crushed when the blonde girl apparently opted not to speak and clamped her mouth shut. She spun on one heal as if to flee once again to wherever she came from.

_Oh no you don't. _"Elsa."

This stopped the girl dead. Anna mentally patted herself on the back for her success as Elsa slowly turned back around. She looked dead at the ground, still clutching her braid, cheeks still lit up like a Christmas light.

"You- you know my name?" The voice was soft, barely audible, almost like she didn't want it to be heard. But it was so pleasing to Anna's ears for some reason, like an auditory massage.

"Of course" the shorter girl happily sang out. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

Just for a split second, Anna thought she saw some semblance of confidence erect Elsa's spine, but it was short lived. Gone in a flash, just like lighting, like a voice in the wind. The girl once again spoke so quietly that Anna had to strain a little to hear. "Never mind." Then she was gone. _Okay, what's up with this? _

"Hey, Kristoff" Anna blurted as she neared where the three friends were standing, which was in view of where Elsa and Anna had their most recent interaction.

"What's up?"

"Do you know anything about Elsa?"

"Is she that quiet girl with, like, white hair?"

The red head perked up. "Yeah, I was just talking to her."

"We saw" came the combined chorus of three voices. Anna stuck her tongue out in reaction.

Kristoff was the one to continue speaking. "I don't know anything about her, but from where I'm standing, she seems to be crushing on you pretty hard."

"But really, who isn't?" Olaf interjected. He was a skinny boy with fairly thick glasses, almost like the generic nerd, pale, imperfect skin. At least he wasn't covered in acne, though. And he was one of the nicest kids you'd ever meet, he'd never admit it, but Anna knew that his favorite thing was to be hugged by someone.

"Whatever" Anna said, rolling her eyes and playfully elbowing her friend. Then she turned her attention back to the well built blonde. "Does she really?" Kristoff may be mostly a loner, but one of his skills is reading people. He can watch someone for thirty seconds and know their entire life story, as well as read their minds. It was really kind of uncanny... and creepy. Still, Anna was not about to be very skeptical of his judgment.

"Yup. Why? Are you crushing on her, too?" He winked and elbowed the strawberry blonde.

Anna's cheeks lit up, heat spilling across them, splashing her ears. "No!"

"Oh, I think you are." Then the bell rang.

"Whatever you say" Anna dismissed as she walked to class, waving her friends off. _So Elsa likes me, huh? _

Once the final bell of the day rang, Anna raced out front of the school. She was determined to find Elsa and make her fess up to why she had approached twice. She anxiously stood, scanning the crowd for several minutes, tapping her right foot on the cement. Just as she was about to give up, the platinum hair appeared in the the sea of randomly moving heads.

The strawberry blonde bounced her way through the crowd, closing in quickly on the shy girl known as Elsa. Once she was finally close enough, the crowd left behind, she hollered "Elsa! Wait!"

Elsa seemed startled, fumbling her rather large stack of books for a brief period. She didn't turn around, but rather her grip said books tightened visibly and her entire body tensed, blanching her knuckles. Anna caught up to stand and face her, speaking once again. "Elsa. I want to ask you something."

The poor girl looked like a deer in headlights, her breathing was labored, this must have been almost excruciating for her. Her eyes looked up to meet Anna's, timid and such a rich blue that they were almost hypnotizing. She shakily nodded her head.

"You've come up to me twice and looked like you were about to say something, why?"

It was about as direct of a shot as one could take. The taller girl shifted her hold on her textbooks and adjusted her weight, not looking so tall anymore. She looked back to the ground and, after several long, tense moments, mumbled entirely too fast. "I wanted to know if you would go to the dance with me." She was blushing furiously now.

It took a few seconds while Anna's brain caught up with the speedy, quiet words. In that time, Elsa was barely able to stand still and wanted to hide and run, but Anna was in her way.

Finally, the red head mustered up some words. "Do you know how many people have asked me? I've turned down every single one thus far, it has to be over thirty people just last week."

A scale seemed to tip inside of Elsa, she looked severely conflicted momentarily, but that look quickly subsided to hurt, like she had just heard the worst thing in her life. It weight on Anna's heart heavily. Elsa muttered out a quick "sorry" and turned to bolt.

It almost happened too fast for Anna to stop it. Almost. The shorter girl reached out with cat like reflexes and grabbed Elsa's wrist firmly. "But" she began, and she could she those blue eyes light up with the tiniest hint of hope as Elsa turned back around to listen. "I'm gonna finally say yes to one. So yes, I would very much like to go to the dance with you."

Dull blue eyes lit up, a bright light refracting through a rich sapphire, widening in delighted surprise. The thin, pink lips stretched into a face splitting grin as Elsa perked up, spine straightening, excitement practically oozing out of her. Anna couldn't help but smile at the sight. _Okay, so maybe I am crushing on Elsa pretty hard, so what? _

Elsa let out an excited "okay!" She then continued on her way home, a big smile on her lips, pep in her step as she walked through the cold, crisp air.

Anna watched on, a silly smile on her own lips. The blonde's breath whisked into the air, forming momentary clouds that eased into nothingness in seconds. _I think I'm really going to enjoy the Winter Ball this year._

* * *

A/N: So do you guys like this as a one shot or do you want more?


	2. The Winter Ball

A/N: You asked for more so here you go! This isn't the last chapter, it'll be a full fic, though I won't give you an estimate of length because it will inevitably be way off.

Enjoy!

* * *

Over the next week, Anna and Elsa had begun talking a little more. Elsa was still uncomfortably shy, always with a blush, always hiding her face when she was near Anna, which was a little bit of a disappointment because she was gorgeous.

Eventually, the platinum blonde gave Anna her address so that the red head could pick her up for the dance.

Anna, being ever careless of what others thought about her, wasn't at all worried about being seen talking to "the weird shy girl." She openly would have brief conversations with the girl until Elsa apparently couldn't overcome her social reservations and would scamper off. Where she ate lunch, Anna had no clue.

The day before the dance, Friday, Anna sat down with her normal group. Rapunzel and Flynn were lost in each other's lips, and Hans was the first one to ask the question when Anna sat down. "So, you got a date for the dance?"

With a proud look, Anna responded "yes, I do, and it's someone I actually like. What about you?"

"Psh, of course _I _do. Who's taking you?"

"You're just gonna have to find out tomorrow." Anna playfully crossed her arms over her chest.

Shaking his head in a friendly manner, Hans admitted defeat. "Whatever."

* * *

Saturday came along, Anna was frantically finishing up her outfit for the Winter Ball. She was wearing a sleeveless summer dress, the body being black with green leaf patterns, the shoulder straps a hand's width, gently resting atop her skin. The skirt trailed down to her feet, a striping pattern of dark and light greens. The dress was made of a thin material, light to the touch, soft as a baby's bottom. This meant that it was extremely inapt for the weather conditions outside, but who cared? It looked amazing.

The girl's hair was up in a tight, neatly done bun, it took hours to get right and pulled on her hair a little, but it looked beautiful. Taking one last glance in her mirror, Anna let out a satisfied grunt and whirled around to the door.

She started her car and put Elsa's address in her GPS, then was off. She couldn't deny the excited buzz in her chest that always seemed to appear around Elsa.

In less than fifteen minutes she was pulling up to a massive house, almost a mansion. It was quite impressive, and Anna began to doubt that she had the correct location, but the mailbox begged to differ. She pulled up the driveway and knocked on the front door. She did her best to ignore the goosebumps lacing her skin due to the frigid weather.

Quiet footsteps could be heard from the other side, the soft thuds coming to a halt right by the front door. Anna felt her heart speed up.

There was a pause for a few seconds, then an Elsa with very red cheeks pulled the door open. She was stunning, simply stunning. A nervous smile graced her lips to contrast the rosy hue of her cheeks, her dress was dark blue, formal, and expensive looking. The clothing gave just a glimpse at Elsa's curvy figure, and her hair was in that same braid as always, which the girl was now gripping for dear life.

"Elsa, you look, you look, uh, really nice."

This set a fire to the paler girl's cheeks and she averted her gaze even farther, uttering out a quiet "thank you."

As they left for the ball, Anna noticed that there was no car other than hers in the driveway. On the way, a thought crossed her mind. _I still don't know Elsa's last name. _"Hey, Elsa?"

The platinum blonde turned her head and peered at her date. "yes?" It was so quiet. Anna could tell her voice was beautiful and melodic, but the girl wouldn't speak up enough to show it off.

"What's your last name? I know it's kind of a weird question, but I feel like I should know it by now, you know?" _You don't sound weird at all. _

The platinum blonde seemed to ponder this question for a moment, then softly answered "Arendelle."

_Arendelle? What?_ Anna's heart fluttered. "You mean Arendelle as in the family that this town is named after? The one that sold the land so it could be built?" _No wonder she's loaded. _

A ghost of a nod emulated from Elsa, her cheeks and ears glowing brighter, which Anna was sure wasn't possible. For the rest of the car ride, Elsa's hands never left her braid and Anna decided not to push the subject. She'd find more out about her date in good time.

They got to the Ball and Anna stepped out of the car along with Elsa. She stood by the front of the vehicle waiting, wondering if the platinum blonde would take any initiative. It appeared that she would not. So, Anna reached out and grabbed the girl's hand, taking it in her own.

She felt the cool skin tense for a moment, then, only after several seconds, relax. The crisp air started to get to Anna, so she led Elsa inside. Shortly after entering, Hans found them.

"Hey, Anna, I take it this is your date?" He gestured to Elsa.

The platinum blonde's cheeks gave her away even in the dim lighting and bright colors around her. She took her hand from Anna's to grab her braid with both, almost blanching her knuckles, and turned to look down and to the side. She wanted to run, but Anna was there. She felt safest around Anna.

The strawberry blonde proudly proclaimed "yup," putting her hand gently on Elsa's shoulder. That dress was definitely thin silk, but Elsa didn't appear cold at all when they were outside.

Hans smirked. "Well, you two have fun, I'm gonna go try to find my date." With that, he was lost in the sea of people.

Anna turned to Elsa. "That's Hans, he can be full of himself but he's alright."

In return, the platinum blonde just nodded.

Scanning the room, Anna located a table of fruits, finger sandwiches, and a chocolate fountain with plentiful items to dip into it. Her eyes lit up, stomach growled, and brain howled like a wolf at the moon for some desert. She grabbed Elsa by the elbow, not wanting the break the girl's grip on her own braid because it seemed to be her anchor. "Common, let's get some chocolate!"

The strawberry blonde bounced over as fast as she could with Elsa in tow, but the wealthy girl was timid in her steps, taking time to get there. She was silent all the while.

Taking a handful of pretzels and dunking them into the liquid chocolate, which was shining like black oil dripping on a moonlit night, she offered one to Elsa. "Here!" Anna happily held the snack out.

But Elsa just shook her head, looking at her own feet.

Cocking an eyebrow in confusion, unable to fathom someone turning down chocolate, Anna lowered the item. "Okay," she said slowly, "well are you hungry at all?"

Once again, the shy girl just shook her head, her eyes still on the ground, hands with a death grip on her hair.

Very slowly, Anna said "ookay." She thought for a few minutes, biting at her lower lip, then an idea teased her mind. "Hey, Elsa, do you want to dance?"

Seemingly barely able to keep herself upright, Elsa smiled brightly and ever so quietly replied "yes."

Happily, Anna took Elsa's hand from the braid and pulled her to the dance floor. It was the slow dance portion of the Ball, so she was in luck. The strawberry blonde assumed the position of lead for the dance, putting her hand gently on the small of Elsa's back and taking the girl's other hand in hers. Elsa was shaking with nervousness, Anna could feel like an earthquake under her hands. She could hear the details of her dance partner's breaths, too. They were shallow and rigid, like Elsa was struggling to keep up with them. _She's so shy I might just be killed by how adorable she is. _Anna let her heart gush at the girl in her arms and ignored everyone that questioned or gave her funny looks for dancing with Elsa.

The Winter Ball went on for several more hours. Elsa scarcely talked and never started the conversation between the two, but nonetheless, Anna had an amazing time. They danced and sat at a table and talked (which really consisted of Anna babbling about random things and Elsa taking a legitimate interest, happily listening to her date's voice). All the while, Elsa never talked about herself.

Near the end, the strawberry blonde was famished, her stomach wined for more food. She once again led Elsa to the snack table and began gorging herself on finger sandwiches. With a mouth half full, she offered the platinum blonde a couple pieces, and Elsa once again shook her head and shamefully trained her eyes on the ground. "Elsa, you've gotta be hungry, we've been here for almost four hours and you haven't eaten a thing. Come on, eat." She pushed the sandwich at her date.

Elsa shied away from the offering, gripping her braid to the point of her knuckles whitening and quietly said "I'm not hungry, thanks."

Anna cocked an eyebrow at her but let it slide. Elsa was exceptionally thin, but not anorexic. She was clearly on the unhealthy side of the spectrum, Anna determined using the information from the more form fitting dress that Elsa was in. _Maybe she has some sort of eating disorder. Her teeth are far too white for Bulimia, maybe it's Binge Eating disorder? _Anna couldn't tell, but she made it her mission to get to the bottom of it.

Eleven o'clock rolled around, the dance ended, and everyone had to go. Anna took Elsa's hand and took in that cute little smile-blush combo that would always show up on Elsa's face when they were holding hands. It was so reserved, like the girl was scared that Anna would see it. It made Anna feel all wiggly inside.

The strawberry blonde drove her date home, and as they neared the Arendelle manner, Elsa started talking first for the first time that night. "Can you drop me off down the street?" She asked it more to the window than Anna.

"Um, sure, mind if I ask why?"

Anna saw the uncertain look that crossed the other girl's eyes and was pretty sure she understood, so she continued talking. "Oh, have you not come out to your parents?"

Elsa seemed to weigh her options, then whispered "I haven't."

"It's okay, I understand, it took me a long time to get the courage to come out to my dad, but I did it and I'm still here. So who knows, maybe you'll find it in you soon." She gave Elsa a reassuring smile, which the platinum blonde returned with some labor.

Anna parked the car a couple houses down from Elsa's and waited while the platinum blonde got out. Anna wasn't waiting for her to leave. Anna was waiting for Elsa to try to ask to hang out again, or anything, really. And for a few moments there, it looked like she was going to.

Elsa looked back into the car through the open door and opened her mouth. Anna bit down excitement, but Elsa slammed her jaw back shut then muttered "bye," and started to walk the cold trek to her house.

With a tiny giggle and roll of the eyes, Anna jumped out into the crisp night air, her breath sparkling like silver in the streetlight. "Elsa, wait."

The blonde turned around, looking a little hopefully at Anna.

_Okay, this is weird, I've never had to do this. _"Well, I was, I had fun tonight, and I was kinda wondering if maybe we- that is, you and I, could hang out again? Just us two?"

Even in the blanket of night, the crimson glow seemed to radiate in all directions form Elsa. Under the streetlight, she looked like some kind of angel, her skin shined, glimmering under the starry sky. Elsa smiled and nodded quickly.

"Great, so, uh, I'll see you Monday?"

A little louder this time, Elsa said "yes." She turned and walked, back strait and chin up, eyes not tracing the ground below her.

_That's how she should always be walking, not slumped and avoiding eye contact with everything. _Monday couldn't come fast enough for Anna.

* * *

A/N: Why is Elsa thin? Why did she want Anna to park away from her house, did she tell Anna the full truth there? Why is she this shy? Why is she so pale? These are some of the questions about Elsa that this fic will be exploring.


	3. The Movie

A/N: If you are following my other elsanna fic, "A Summer to Remember," you can look and see that the third chapter of that fic has the exact same name as this, the third chapter of "Mystery Girl." See what I did there? XD

* * *

Monday arrived after what felt like ten years of waiting, but it arrived nonetheless. Anna raced out of the door that morning and drove to school quickly.

After testing her car's ability to accelerate, she was pulling up in her parking spot at the school. The bubbling strawberry blonde skipped inside and looked around the entrance. She didn't see Elsa in their normal spot, so she waited.

Soon enough, slightly damp, silvery hair trotted through the front door. Anna smiled brightly at the girl, who had apparently noticed her. Elsa's cheeks lit up and she grinned at the ground, as per usual. She was clutching her braid with both hands, her backpack full of books strapped to her back.

"Hey, Elsa!"

In a low voice, the shy girl answered "Hi, Anna," then walked towards her.

"How was your day yesterday?"

Just a flash, a fleeting moment no more than a split second long of what looked like a grimace on Elsa's face appeared. It was replaced quickly with a smile. "Good, how about yours?"

"Too long" Anna sighed.

Elsa gave the girl in front of her a quizzical look.

The red head bit back a giggle for Elsa's sake. "I was waiting to see you, silly."

There it was. A light up rose staining the platinum blonde's cheek as she smiled dumbly at the ground. It made Anna's heart gush.

The bell rang, momentarily deafening both of their ears. "Common," Anna started afterwords, "we can walk down the hall together." Without waiting, she grabbed the girl's hand in her own and started walking.

Elsa let it happen and grinned at the ground her entire way to class.

* * *

For the next couple of days, Anna waited for Elsa to try and farther the skeleton of plans they- or rather Anna- had made after the dance. But no such luck. At times, however, the shy girl looked like she was about to ask about it or try to bring it up, but she always ended up shying away. She'd close her mouth and her cheeks would glow warmly, her fingers tightening on her braid.

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, Anna took matters into her own hands. "Elsa," she called.

Turning around in the tide of students pouring out of the school like a flood, the blonde looked at her friend. "Yes?" She looked... hopeful again.

"Are you, um, are you free on Friday evening?"

Elsa nodded her head, the ever pink hue on her face brightening, her lips stretched far upwards.

"Great! So, uh, do you want to go to dinner?"

The wealthy girl appeared to think. She was clearly conflicted, but Anna didn't know what about. _Oh no, what if she says no? _

Looking at the ground, shoulders weighed with heavy shame, Elsa shook her head.

The strawberry blonde began to panic inside. _What if she doesn't like me any more? I really like her now! _

Elsa apparently noticed Anna's thoughts because she corrected her course as quickly as her social reservations would allow her to. "Not dinner," she said quietly. "A- A movie?" She was shaking like an earthquake running a nine on the Richter scale. Her voice was just as wobbly and she appeared as though she was using all of her willpower not to cut and run.

Anna smiled with relief. "Yes, a movie sounds nice. I'll pick you up at seven?"

With a joyful nod, Elsa turned and walked- _no, she's skipping, just the tiniest amount- _away, a whole new confidence radiating from her. Anna grinned as her soon-to-be date happily kicked at the thin layer of snow on the ground. Now just to last until Friday.

* * *

Well, she did it. Anna was taking one last glance in the mirror to make sure she looked good for her date with Elsa (of course she did). She wasn't dressed in anything special, a jacket to ward off the cold, and jeans. But even though she wasn't dressing up, she wanted to look presentable for her date.

With a jittery heart, the red head ran out to the car, yelling out in passing to her father. She heard some semblance of a "have fun" from him just before the front door crashed shut behind the blur that was Anna.

Anna pulled up to Elsa's house and was at her front door eight minutes passed seven, she mentally berated herself for being late. After she rang the doorbell, she noticed that there was, again, no car but hers in the driveway.

Elsa answered the door, her hair in its signature braid, still wearing the same clothes she went to school in. That was okay, she looked beautiful no matter what, it was like she was magical. Anna couldn't imagine anyone walked passed her without taking a second glance to get a better fill of her immaculate beauty. "I'm so sorry I'm late!"

With a little smile, Elsa assured "it's okay," and stepped out, closing and locking the door behind her.

"I feel really bad, though."

"Don't, really, I just finished getting ready."

Without a thought even bothering to take a passing check on her mouth, Anna blurted "but you're wearing exactly what you left school with." _Oh great, you are fantastic at this. _

Pink cheeks went to red and burned into maroon, Elsa found interest in her shoes. "I was practicing." Again with that barely audible voice.

After yelling at herself inside of her own head, Anna let curiosity get the better of her. "Practicing what?"

"I, um, I sing."

Anna could almost hear it now, Elsa's soft, melodic, hypnotizing voice trickling through the air into her ears. Or maybe it was a powerful, confident voice? The thought made Anna smile. Elsa happily singing, her voice sure, unwavering, notes hit perfectly and purely. "That's so cool! I would love to hear it."

"I- I don't sing in front of people." Elsa trailed off at the end of her sentence, as if her date wasn't supposed to hear it. She also hid her rosy red cheeks behind her glimmering braid.

"Please?"

After a few moments, Elsa shyly choked out "maybe." Anna felt a pulse of anticipation.

They left the house for the movie theater, arriving just in time for a seven forty-five showing of "Guardians of the Galaxy." "Have you seen that one? I heard it's really funny."

Elsa whispered "I don't really watch movies."

"Okay, well, we'll see that one." They approached the counter to buy the tickets, and when Elsa took out her wallet, Anna pushed her hand down. To a very confused blonde, she calmly explained. "I'm paying, you're my date." Anna swore the window started to glow red.

"Thank you."

They took their seats after Anna bought a gigantic chocolate bar and a Pepsi for herself. She offered to buy Elsa anything she wanted for the movie, but the blonde refused all offers of food or drink, even after her red headed date practically got on her knees and begged.

Before the movie began, Anna offered some chocolate to Elsa, who again politely refused. Now Anna was actually worried, she hadn't seen the girl eat, not once. Either way, she respected her date's decision and promptly devoured the candy during the commercials.

Finally, the film started and Anna watched intently. The movie kept her laughing frequently, and she would often times glance over at Elsa and catch the girl with a tiny, giggling smile and a hand covering her lips. It was too adorable.

Nearly an hour in, Anna's willpower was running out. She had her hand placed meticulously on the arm rest that was shared with Elsa. She wasn't trying to hog it, she wanted Elsa to hold her hand. She was about to cave, about to grab the blonde's hand herself when something finally happened.

A tiny nudge from a cool, slender hand, just a touch; then it retreated. Anna grinned and without turning her head, spoke just loud enough for Elsa to hear. "It's okay."

She could almost feel the blush radiating from her date's face, almost feel the temperature of the room increasing with the shade of Elsa's cheeks. Or was that her own blush? No one could be sure.

She also could have sworn she felt ice blue eyes looking at her for almost the entirety of the remainder of the movie, but every time she tried to check, they'd snap to the screen.

Anna smiled, it had been a good date.

She drove Elsa back home, and the same drill happened as last time. "Could you, um-"

Without needing to hear the rest, Anna responded. "Yes, I'll drop you off around the corner."

"Thank you."

Anna rolled to a stop at the curb and felt the slender, pale fingers slide out of beneath hers. She missed the contact. Before she had the chance to say bye, Elsa had taken another deep breath, and with a powerful exhale said one more word. "Again?"

_It's a start. _With a smile that almost melted the snow outside, Anna made her decision. "I'd love to. I'll see you Monday."

Elsa was visibly relieved and took off into a little excited half-run down the sidewalk, grabbing her braid tightly as she went. There was also a passing "bye" in there somewhere.

Anna waited a few minutes before pulling back onto the street. She passed Elsa's house on her way back home and saw one car, a Lexus, parked in the driveway.

When she got home, she went straight to her computer. _Okay, maybe I'm super stalker-ish, but I really want to find more out about Elsa. I mean, I know I'm being impatient and she'd open up on her own time, but really, I just gotta know. _Not entirely pleased with her own justification, Anna used Google to search locally for "Arendelle."

There were thousands of hits instantly. News articles about the selling of the land, how the deal went through, the net worth (which Anna miraculously didn't find all that interesting), and... _Obituaries from 2005? _Already regretting her decision, the red head clicked on the link created nine years prior.

She read the article hastily and quickly learned an ugly truth. Elsa's father had died in a plane crash. Pressing on, it only got worse. He had apparently not had time to don his own oxygen mask because he was busy securing the masks of two other people: his wife, and his only daughter, Elsa.

Anna's eyes misted over rapidly. She leaned back in her chair and just barely whispered "oh, Elsa."

* * *

A/N: So, what do you think thus far? The genre may change to hurt/comfort but it's still gonna be almost all fluff and a budding romance between the two girls. We are slowly finding out more information about the mystery girl.


	4. Saturday Surprise

Anna barely slept that night. Thoughts about Elsa kept ravaging her mind, and not good ones either. She was caught up in the pain the girl must be in, must have gone through. _Her father saved her life at the cost of his own. _

Did Elsa have survivor's guilt?

The strawberry blonde was no expert on these things, not by a long shot. She regretted that Google search with every fiber of her being. _Why was I so nosy? Why can't I just keep to myself? _

In the early hours of the morning, Anna was finally brought sleep. It only approached when she placated her struggling mind by telling herself she'd make a surprise visit to Elsa's house the next day. _After all, I can just tell her mother we are friends. She doesn't have to know about the dates._

* * *

After getting only a few hours of shut-eye, the red head was up for the day. She felt little better than she had the previous night and went on to shower and brush her teeth. She was so lost in what she'd say to Elsa that she forgot to eat before she left.

She pulled up to the familiar mansion, leaving her car parked by the curb in front of it. The walk to the front door seemed significantly longer than it had each other time, the world would not sit still.

A ring of the doorbell came after reaching her hand out, pulling away, mentally preparing herself, and reaching out once more. Anna still had no idea what she'd say.

The door opened. A confused Elsa was standing there, her brow furrowed. Her eyes had gone wide and the oh so adorable coloration had taken on new heights in her cheeks. She glanced behind Anna, forehead creased with concern. "A-Anna?"

It took multiple seconds, but the strawberry blonde caught on that she had to explain showing up un-announced. Her brain was swimming with excuses. She could play it lightly, be goofy like normal, or she could tell Elsa why she had to come. She didn't know, so she let her tongue thoughtlessly blurb. "Elsa! I just- well, last night I- and then, now I'm here." She let out a nervous chuckle.

The platinum blonde looked dumbstruck. She obviously had no idea what her friend-date-crush was talking about.

"Err, uh, can I come in?"

Those sky blue eyes took one more glance behind Anna. The red head traced the line of sight, checking behind herself. There was no car in the driveway, but her mind didn't feel like processing anything. There were butterflies eating butterflies riding butterflies in her stomach, her heart was pounding furiously. Elsa nodded, still in shock.

"Thanks." Anna stepped in, the door shut behind her.

Elsa was looking almost anywhere but Anna. She was clearly still searching for an answer, and was struggling to begin talking. She did speak after several long, awkward moments. "Why are you here?"

Anna deflected. "This place is so nice!" Her brain really wasn't ready to face this.

She looked at her rich friend after gesturing to the house in general. Elsa was staring at the ground, unable to make eye contact. _She really deserves an explanation, it's not fair for me to make her uncomfortable in her own home. _

"I..." Anna chewed her lower lip. As she started speaking again, she let out a nervous chuckle and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Well, I wanted to see you." _That's at least half of the truth. _

Elsa still looked uncomfortable, but she had that little, silly grin on her face now. She kept her eyes on the ground, but her hands unconsciously found their way to her braid. "Oh."

Anna was finally starting to regain her bearings. Her insides were calming down just enough. "So, uh, do you wanna show me around your house?"

Without making eye contact, the shy girl gripped tighter on her hair and whispered more to herself "okay."

And she did. She didn't talk much, but rather would lead Anna into a room and grin dumbly as the red head made a scene out of every little awesome detail. Anna was loud, laughing, she even forgot about what truly drove her to visit in the first place.

She was hanging out with Elsa.

At her house.

It made her feel all fuzzy and wiggly inside. She felt like a gigantic noodle.

The tour lasted about thirty minutes of "ooh, that's so cool!" and "whoa, look at _that_." It was fun and distracting. Plus, being near Elsa was enjoyable enough on its own.

Anna didn't realize how much time had flown by. It was fluidly mending, streaming by at supersonic speeds. Before she knew it, it was the early afternoon and her stomach was akin to a shriveled up prune.

A loud gurgle escaped the organ and Anna patted it with both hands. She giggled and looked at Elsa, who seemed adequately amused by the display of hunger. "I'm sorry, I didn't have breakfast, do you think I could have something here?"

Elsa kicked the ground a little. "We, uh, out to lunch?" She was barely talking when she spoke.

Smiling brightly, Anna chirped "it's a date!"

The shy girl just smiled at the ground with heat radiating from her cheeks.

Anna drove since Elsa didn't have a car. They went to a local sandwich shop, where Anna ordered a meal piled high with every ingredient possible. To her dismay, Elsa did not order. "I'm not hungry," she had said.

When it was time to pay, Elsa said nothing, but instead quickly pushed money into the man's hands, not giving Anna a chance to pay for herself. The platinum blonde was blushing up a storm, her eyes on the counter, an embarrassed smile on her face. _This girl is too cute. _

Grabbing her sandwich with her lips stretched wide, Anna sang out "thank you, Elsa." They found a seat and Anna began to stuff her face. She got about halfway through the sandwich when her stomach started complaining that it was simply too full, and pushed the rest away.

"Do you want some?"

"No thank you."

"Are you sure? It's really good."

"I'm okay. Thanks." That was the end of it, Elsa was adamant in her decision not to eat. _She always is. _Anna nibbled her lower lip for a moment but swallowed the concern.

They finished up a little passed three in the afternoon and drove back to Elsa's house. Anna took the liberty of grabbing the girl's hands in her own while she drove. The skin was so soft, expertly woven silk, and it was so cautious, grabbing tighter every few minutes.

"I still want to hear you sing." Anna chose just as she parked her car to state this. She had parked on the curb where she was before.

Elsa turned her head away, the hand slipping away from Anna's to take its place at her hair. She seemed conflicted. Nervous, scared, and also like she really wanted to sing for Anna.

With a gentle voice, Anna spoke. "It's okay if you don't want to sing for me, but I'm sure your voice is almost as beautiful as you are."

The car seemed to heat up twenty degrees, it was suddenly hot, Elsa must have been as red as a beat. "Okay." So quiet was the voice that Anna thought it was in her head at first.

"Okay as in you'll sing?" The red head's eyes widened in surprise and excitement, her lips stretching from ear to ear. Her heart fluttered.

"Yes."

Anna bounced out of her seat, nearly hitting her head on the car's roof. "Yay!" She squealed, her fists pumping in the air, accenting her excitement.

The platinum blonde got out of the car, gaze never leaving her own feet. Elated, Anna followed her inside.

It seemed as though Elsa was about to go upstairs, but she stopped dead at the first stair. She turned around and looked at Anna. "Down here."

With a stupid smile, the strawberry blonde nodded like a woodpecker and popped a squat on the nearest chair.

Elsa stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed, head tilted towards the earth. She seemed to be focusing, so Anna bit down the excitement coursing through her like electricity.

After several long minutes, the platinum blonde took a deep breath and slowly let it seep back out. Then, it happened.

"_Don't let them in_

_Don't them them see_

_Be the good girl you always have to be"_

Anna was entranced. Elsa's voice was soft, melodic, wavering from nervousness. The girl was shaking in spot, her breaths were uneasy, but her notes were getting clearer as she got lost in her song.

"_Conceal, don't feel_

_Don't let them know_

_Well now they know"_

The strawberry blonde was completely lost now, Elsa's voice was beautiful, ringing through the house, notes being hit perfectly. She was skilled, it was pleasing to listen to. Her voice was as pure as diamond, rolling with ease into Anna's ears.

"_Let it go_

_Let it go_

_Can't hold it back anymore_

_Let it go_

_Let it go_

_Turn away and slam the door!"_

Elsa was starting to get lost in her talent. Her eyes were closed, her mouth smiling, dancing ever so slightly as she sang. It was a beautiful sight.

"_I don't care_

_What they're going to say_

_Let the storm rage on_

_The cold never bothered my anyway."_

All too soon, it was over. Elsa stopped and opened her eyes. She had apparently forgotten Anna was there, because her cheeks went rosy red and she looked at the ground, but kept the smile. "Elsa! That was amazing!"

"Thank you."

"Did you write that song!?"

The platinum blonde just nodded. "I wrote it for when I feel, um..." She let her voice trail off and look around uncomfortably.

"When you have to let off steam?"

Elsa gave a shy smile and nodded.

"Well, it was beautiful, I'll bet your mom loves to listen to you sing." _No! Don't let it slip that you know, not now! Use 'parents' or something! _

Luckily, Elsa didn't seem to notice. Instead, her smile turned sad, and her eyes began to glimmer under the light. "She doesn't know I still sing. I used to sing for her and my dad, they loved to listen."

Anna felt her heart break in two. This was too sad, she felt her nose growing hot and eyes misting over. "Well, you're the best singer I've ever heard, and that's saying something."

The compliment seemed to do its job and distract Elsa from the memories that were undoubtedly about her late father. "Thanks."

The two hung out for several more hours, Anna would talk loudly and Elsa would listen, smile, and blush. Occasionally, the shy girl would say something, but it was fairly rare. It was a good day.

A car made itself known through the roar of its engine out front, then was cut off. Elsa looked panicked, like a deer in headlights. "You, uh, you should go. Out the back."

The strawberry blonde just figured it was for fear of Elsa's mother finding out about the girl's sexuality, so she didn't question it. Instead, she bid her friend-crush goodbye. "I'll see you Monday, okay?"

Holding the back door open for Anna, the platinum blonde smiled and nodded. Anna gave the girl one last grin and took her leave, heart sailing in the clouds. She snuck around the house to her car and drove home.

* * *

Monday arrived after a long Sunday of worrying on Anna's part. She never told Elsa why she visited and still needed to address the issue. But it was Monday morning now, she'd see the girl in a few minutes.

Anna waited at school in their normal spot, waiting for that silvery ponytail to trot through the doors. After a little while of waiting, it did.

"Hey, Elsa!"

The platinum blonde looked up, grinned, and walked towards her crush.

"I have something to tell you." The strawberry blonde felt herself already starting to choke on the butterflies ravaging her stomach. Her voice and face were serious.

Elsa's face creased with worry, she twitched as if she momentarily considered running.

"I didn't tell you the whole truth when I came over Saturday." Without letting herself gauge the hurt look from Elsa or think about anything at all, Anna continued, talking fast now. "I Googled you and found out about your dad and Elsa I'm so sorry- I'm too nosy I know, but I'm so sorry about what happened and really want you to know that I'm here for you." She paused to take a breath. "I'm right here if you need someone to talk to about how you feel, I know it was a long time ago but- well, I lost my mom, I know the pain stays inside of you. So just, so, I'm here for you."

Elsa's eyes were dribbling tears down her cheeks, face no longer looking at the floor, but rather directly into Anna's eyes, like they were analyzing her soul. Anna felt a pang of guilt, a cloud of panic that she did the wrong thing.

But then Elsa did something unexpected. She lunged forward and gripped around Anna tightly. She squeezed hard, as hard as she could, it seemed. It choked the wind out of Anna's lungs, but she didn't care. Elsa was hugging her. It was warm and comforting and sudden and crazy all at once.

All Anna could think about was the girl in her arms, the girl now crying onto her shoulder, the girl heaving out sobs. The girl was so tender, so delicate and no one knew. No one knew about her pain. No one but Anna, who had now lent a helping hand.

So the red head patted Elsa's back and whispered into her ear. "It's okay, I've got you. It's okay, Elsa."

And after a long while of crying, without pulling away, Elsa choked up "thank you."

* * *

A/N: There is certainly much more to learn about the mystery girl so stay tuned! I

know, I know, using "Let it Go" was kinda cheesy but it actually fits very well in the story, and that will be farther shown later on.

Now that we've ended on a nice happy note, you should share your thoughts in that delicious box below!


	5. Meet My Father

A/N: I appreciate it when you guys **kindly** point out something that is unclear/ a typo/ etc, but please don't be an asshole about it. I will listen if you give constructive criticism, and I appreciate it, I really do, just don't be an ass. In order to clear something up that someone **obviously** did not understand, Elsa's father died in a plane crash because he secured her and her mother's oxygen mask first. Why is that important? Well, you need oxygen in your blood, and at low air pressures you can't get any. The oxygen masks drop so you can use them to equalize pressure, per say, in case the cabin's auto-pressure system fails. At 25,000 feet in the air (about half what many commercial flights fly at) not wearing the oxygen mask WILL result in death, and the decompression will result in The Bends. Long story short, not putting on that mask is lethal at the heights commercial airplanes fly at. Even after the pressure system fails in the cabin, the plane continues to fly high up for a little while, it doesn't just... fall, it more like glides.

Anyway, here's chapter five, I hope you enjoy it and thank all of you that **kindly** point out issues you have with the story or give positive feedback, it means a lot.

P.S. Just to be clear: This whole thing was directed at an IM I received, not any of the reviews. None of the reviews have been offensive. The explanation about what happens when you don't wear an oxygen mask in a plane crash was included because in a review, someone said they were confused as to why that matters.

* * *

Anna and Elsa fell into a routine. Each day after school, Anna would visit the platinum blonde's house and stay for several hours. They did nothing in particular; in fact, looking back, the strawberry blonde couldn't remember a single thing of importance they did on any day.

But that didn't matter, what did matter was that Anna enjoyed herself every second of the time they spent together and the same was true for Elsa. The familiar car engine roar echoing through the abandoned rooms of the mansion was Anna's cue to sneak out the back each time. She did it flawlessly every time.

It was now Friday afternoon, school had just ended, and to Anna's inner dismay, Elsa had not brought up the subject of her father a single time. Anna did not plan to press the issue, though. After all, it had only been four days since she told Elsa that she knew what happened.

"Hey" came Elsa's still timid voice, pulling Anna back from la-la land.

"Hey, Elsa!" The red head smiled brightly and turned to the girl.

Elsa smiled at the ground and very carefully took Anna's hand in her own. Feeling her cheeks burning to match the hue of her own hair, Anna allowed the gesture.

They walked hand in hand to the strawberry blonde's car. They would head straight to Elsa's place, where Anna would stay for as long as she could then return home for dinner. It was an ideal schedule, really. The only begrudging thing to Anna was that her and Elsa still weren't "official." But that didn't matter all that much. _Soon I'll ask her out for real. _

Grinning a fool's grin, Anna started her car.

* * *

"So," Anna's father said over pizza that night, "who's this friend of yours you've been going on and on to me about?"

The girl blushed. "I haven't been _going on _toyou about _anyone_, I've been _informing _you of the facts."

"Hmm. Facts, eh? Okay, then. You still haven't told me her name."

Grinning, Anna spewed an answer with her mouth full. "She's Elsa. And how do you know it's a _she_?" Anna teased.

Mr. Summers just cocked an eyebrow at his daughter.

"Right, me, boys are gross, I'm lesbian." She chuckled a little. "_Anyway, _Elsa's too gorgeous for her own good, she doesn't even realize it! Her hair is so smooth and her skin- it's like- it's like- I don't even know! That's how beautiful she is! And she does this thing where she's super shy and she's so adorable and-" Anna had to stop for a breath, she was spinning her own head just ranting about the platinum blonde.

With a smirk, her father responded. "So I've heard. When do I get to meet her?"

The pizza suspended in the strawberry blonde's hand fell with a satisfying thud onto her plate. "M-meet her? Uh, er, um, eheh, we're not- uh, uhhhfficial."

With a small, good-natured laugh, the man assured his daughter. "You don't have to be. I still want to meet whoever has my daughter on a hook like this."

"She does _not_! Okay, yeah, she does. I'll, um, I'll ask."

* * *

On Monday afternoon, Anna summoned the courage to ask Elsa to come over for dinner and meet her father. _This is going to be difficult. _

She saw the signature braid coming her way. _I'm ready, come on! I was born ready! _

"Elsa!" Anna spoke loudly, as if the raised volume would ward off the butterflies stirring inside of her stomach. It didn't.

"Hello." The shy girl was smiling, but not at the ground, she was holding eye contact with Anna, something the red head noted was happening more and more.

With a deep, shaky breath, Anna let all words bypass the filter between her brain and her mouth. "So I- well, actually my dad, but that doesn't matter- was wondering if, well, Friday would you like to come over to my house for dinner and, uh, er, meet my, um, dad?"

Elsa took a moment to think. Anna chewed at her lower lip. It was a tense three seconds. Wait, no, four- five- six... Over ten seconds of thought later, Elsa finally answered. "Yes."

Anna squealed in delight. "Yay! Now how about we study for the test coming up?"

The shy girl furrowed her brow in confusion, concern lightly peppering her features as well. "I don't have a test coming up..."

"I never said _you_ did, silly," Anna spoke as she grabbed Elsa's hand. "I do."

* * *

Elsa had requested to be picked up as she had no mode of transportation to get to Anna's house. The red head happily obliged and there she was, ringing Elsa's doorbell.

**Ding-dong**

After less than a minute, the portal was slowly opened and sky blue eyes met Anna's. There was a weak smile on those luscious lips, the red head failed to read the concern in her _date's? _Eyebrows. She was busy staring at those lips. Her own mouth went dry and she had to forcefully redirect her attention to Elsa's eyes.

But- _oh my, that dress! _It was beautiful, glimmering almost like ice in the dying light of the evening sun. The orange spreading from the horizon refracted in the expensive, ice blue, silk-like material, capturing an unreal property. It sparkled like raindrops, using the surrounding light for color beyond it's own dim blue.

It accented Elsa's thin yet curved body, draping over the girl's chest, delicately holding to her torso, pushed out by the now apparent flare of her hips. The skirt was full, a solid veil reaching down to Elsa's feet, hiding her shoes. It must have cost a fortune. _Or two... _

Anna felt her words trapped in her throat. "Elsa- I- wow! And you- that- it's whoa! You look, err, beautiful! That doesn't even cut it!" _She's usually so shy, but this dress completely suggests she's so confident! I love it! _

The platinum blonde's entire face, neck, and alabaster shoulders turned a rich pink with the heat rushing through her body. She looked at the ground and grabbed her braid with both hands. "Thank you."

"Now I feel bad for not dressing up!"

That beautiful face transitioned seamlessly to pure concern. "Oh, no, you- should I have?"

"I'm just teasing, Elsa, I think you look wonderful, my dad will love it."

The girl smiled at the ground and followed Anna to her car, which was the only one in the driveway.

They arrived at Anna's house a few minutes later. Her heart was beating rapidly, for some reason having Elsa meet her father was extra nerve-wracking. She shakily stepped out of the car. "Well, this is my house, it's nothing compared to yours, but..."

Quietly, Elsa spoke. "No, no, it's beautiful." Then, so quiet that Anna wasn't entirely sure if she was imagining things. "Like you."

_Omygoshomygoshomygosh I'm going to faint if she calls me beautiful again! _The red head smiled passed the scorching oven around her. "Thank you."

She led Elsa inside. When they entered, her father had just finished setting the table. "Perfect timing, come get something to eat!"

Upon Anna's instructions, Elsa left her shoes (light blue high heels) next to the front door. Then, the strawberry blonde bolted to the table. "I'm starving!"

"You always are" came her father's voice.

"Oh, shush!" Anna playfully rolled her eyes. Elsa was just arriving at the dinner table and seemed thoroughly amused by the banter taking place.

The table was set with salmon, vegetables cooked in olive oil, and some fresh dinner rolls. Mister Summers wasn't the greatest cook, but he tried. Anna, for her part, quite enjoyed anything he made, she loved home cooked meals.

Haphazardly, she scooped up a piece of fish, a tiny amount of veggies, and four rolls. Before she began her feast, however, she checked Elsa. _I still haven't ever seen her eat. _

The platinum blonde was _very _timidly taking a section of salmon, a few vegetables, and skipped the bread entirely.

_Good, she's at least got food on her plate, that means she'll eat it, right? _At that, the strawberry blonde dug in.

"So, Elsa," her dad started, "you go to school with Anna?"

The girl just nodded, grinning a little but not making eye contact with the man.

"I'm not gonna pretend to know nothing, Anna talks about you all the time." The auburn haired girl felt herself desperately need to fan off and hide forever. Then, Mr. Summers leaned in as if to whisper a secret to Elsa. He made sure to speak plenty loudly, though. "She _really _likes you."

"Dad!" Anna squealed louder than she thought she could, flinging a roll at her father.

He just laughed and blocked the projectile with his face. Elsa leaned low into her seat, face completely red, a ripened tomato. Between the two girls, the room must have been boiling hot.

"I'm just telling the truth!"

"Sure, sure."

The meal went on much like that that for a about twenty more minutes. As Elsa observed the interaction between Anna and her father, she seemed to slump more and more. By the end of the twenty minutes, while the red head was passing a joke to her father, she noticed a tear rolling from the platinum blonde's cheeks. _Oh, no, Elsa! _"Elsa, are you-"

At that moment, mister Summers decided to make take a friendly tease at Elsa. It was horrible timing, but he didn't know that, he didn't see the sadness behind the girl's eyes. She hadn't so much as touched her food, and he noticed. "What's the matter? Is my cooking that bad? You can tell me if it is, it's okay!"

Elsa looked terrified now, she had not read the joke in the man's words. She re-adjusted in her seat, looking between the two. There was an inner conflict going on and it hurt Anna not to know what it was, though she had a pretty good idea.

"Elsa, it's-" but then something that Anna hadn't seen before happened. The girl took a fork full of food and, with dismay written on her face, took a bite. Nothing was for sure, but the red head thought she saw a flash of regret.

There was still that pain in Elsa, Anna could tell, especially when the platinum blonde quietly said "it's delicious. Could you excuse me to the restroom for a moment, please?"

"Yeah, um, it's just down there on the right." Anna pointed to guide the girl. She herself was panicking inside, barely able to not get sucked into the whirlwind in her mind and heart. She exchanged a concerned look with her father as Elsa got up and left in a hurry, clutching her hair for dear life.

Once the girl was gone, Anna spoke again. "Dad! You had to put her on the spot like that!?"

"What? I didn't know anything was wrong!"

Anna huffed and got up to follow Elsa. _Men! _She got to the door and from the outside heard the toilet flush and the sink begin to run. After a few seconds she heard something else. A sniffle. Her heart sank to the floor as she knocked. "Elsa? Are you okay?"

To the strawberry blonde's surprise, the door clacked unlocked, then opened. Elsa had tears streaming down her cheeks and more on their way. "I- I miss my dad..."

With a heavy heart, Anna reached out and hugged Elsa tightly, feeling the girl's boney frame match into hers and rubbing the magically soft material of the dress in circles. She very carefully spoke. "Do- do you want to talk about it?"

Elsa pulled away slightly to look in Anna's eyes and sniffled once more. "Yes."

* * *

A/N: So there is a serious conversation coming up next chapter that will unveil more about Elsa. Until then, anyone care to guess why she went to the bathroom? (It wasn't to pee).


	6. The Talk

A/N: So quite a wait for a relatively short chapter. I apologize for that and for how sporadic my updating schedule for this is. I'm trying to get one chapter of "A Summer to Remember" out roughly every week, and that takes a lot of my free time, but I'm never going to abandon this story, I love it too much.

Anyway, sorry in advanced for my future update schedule, I'll try to keep this fic updated at least once a week. Thanks for all your support, and enjoy!

* * *

"Okay," Anna said. "Let's go somewhere more private."

Elsa nodded, wiping her nose clean with her wrist. The strawberry blonde offered a hand to her friend.

With a small look, Elsa accepted, allowing Anna to lead her.

She led Elsa away from the bathroom and upstairs and into her bedroom, sitting down on the edge of her bed and gesturing for Elsa to do the same. The platinum blonde looked at Anna for a moment then sat down next to her. Tears were still falling from her eyes.

"So..." Anna tested.

Elsa looked at her. She looked scared, small. It hurt the red head's heart. "I... I don't know where to begin," came the mumble.

Anna worried at her lower lip momentarily. "Just, um, vent to me for now?"

The platinum blonde passed on a quizzical look.

"Venting, it's when, well, when you just kinda rant about the things that are bothering you, you know."

"Oh." Elsa turned her head away and clutched her braid with both hands. Anna could tell she was scared, she probably hasn't ever opened up to someone before. _But I want to help her, hopefully she will open up to me. _"I- I'm nervous..."

Anna took one of Elsa's hands in her own, moving it from the loose braid to the bed and letting their fingers rest atop each other. "I know, it's okay. If you don't want to, you don't have to tell me anything."

With a sniffle, the platinum blonde replied in a shaky voice. "I want to."

Anna smiled at the girl. "Start where you're most comfortable."

Elsa thought for a long time. Her sky blue eyes were damp and gray, as if clouds had overtaken her irises. A look, Anna mused, that did not belong in them.

Finally, the platinum blonde took a dragged out, shaky breath. Anna felt her heart skip a beat. _Is it happening? _

The voice was quiet. "I- you already know about my dad."

Anna nodded and clutched Elsa's hand tighter.

The action seemed to give Elsa a miniscule burst of strength that allowed her to continue. "W-well," words seemed to be more difficult for her to form now. "He- he... because of me." As she spoke, the platinum blonde started sobbing, bowing her head as if in shame.

Anna's heart sank to the floor and below at seeing Elsa like this. Her eyes started to mist over, but she choked it down in favor of being strong for the girl next to her. She cautiously pulled Elsa closer, hugging the crying girl such that her neck would take the blunt of the tears. "Shh, no, no, it wasn't because of you, Elsa."

Quickly, Elsa latched herself around Anna, squeezing tightly in the embrace and digging her face into the crook of Anna's neck. "Y-yes it was, it's my fault he's d-dead!"

"No, no it's not."

"Yes- if- if I wasn't there, if- then he'd be alive!"

_And there's the flaw in her thoughts, that's what I need to fix, the way she's thinking about it. That will take time, but I want to be there for her. _

"Elsa, don't think that way, it's not your fault."

The platinum blonde seemed to forget her reservations about opening up to Anna and pulled away slightly to look her in the eyes. The sight pinched a nerve in the strawberry blonde's heart. "Yes, it is, because he- he would have h-had time to- to save himself if I w-wasn't there!"

Anna tenderly reached to place a hand on Elsa's shoulder, but the girl flinched away. The red head frowned and dropped her arm. _So I'm not so good at this. _Elsa turned away and hugged her arms around her own body. _No, no, no! _"Elsa," she said very gently, "I know I'm terrible at this and this probably isn't what you want to hear, but like I said a couple of weeks ago, I know it hurts, I know, you aren't alone."

"How!?" Elsa snapped, her shy persona discarded for the time being. "How do you know!? You don't!"

That hurt, it struck a minor chord inside of Anna, trembling her entire body. It sank her. She felt the mist in her eyes grow to a river as tears started falling. After a sniffle and choking down a couple of sobs, she spoke. This time, her voice was weaker. "I l-lost my mom, remember?"

Elsa's hands dropped from her body to her sides. She seemed to regret her words. "I-I'm sorry, I- I-"

"It's okay, Elsa. You didn't mean it, I kn-know." Anna wiped mucus from her own nostrils. She then held out her arms in offering. "I forgive you."

As if Anna was a snake curled and ready to bite, Elsa cautiously moved forward. She made contact with the red head and sunk into the embrace. "Do you- do you think my dad would forgive me?"

Anna rubbed Elsa's back slowly. "Yes. I really do. I don't think he'd even consider regretting it. He loved you."

A cool, wet spot was forming on Anna's shirt, alerting her that Elsa was quietly crying into her. Slender, pale fingers dug into the red head's skin, folding her clothes and creasing them. Elsa held her like a ship to an anchor.

After several minutes, a tiny voice breached the barrier to Anna's eardrums. "Thank you." At that moment, Anna knew that, even though it was far from complete, Elsa had begun to forgive herself just the tiniest amount. _But a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. _

A long time went by, Anna didn't know how long, but Elsa was still holding her tight. The red head, for the first time in her life, didn't know what to say. So she didn't talk, she just let Elsa silently vent to her. Eventually, however, someone did break the silence. It was neither of them.

There were three knocks at the door followed by the voice of mister Summers. "Anna, Elsa?"

The strawberry blonde thought for a moment, then figured it was best not to send her father away. "Yeah?"

"Can I come in for a moment?"

The red head looked at Elsa, who just gave a tiny nod as if to silently say "I'll be okay, yes."

"Yes."

The door slowly opened and there stood the man, he looked a little shameful. "I just wanted to apologize to you, Elsa. I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything, so, I'm sorry."

The platinum blonde just nodded into the crook of Anna's neck while the red head smiled at her father.

"Well, I- um, I'll leave you two. It was nice meeting you, Elsa."

Elsa once again nodded and Mr. Summers left the girls alone, quietly closing the door behind himself, leaving it open just a crack.

After just holding the platinum blonde, Anna decided to speak again. She didn't want to push too far, so she was careful with her wording. "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

Elsa stiffened momentarily, then countered. "Is there something you want to ask me?"

Anna bit her lip. She could have been a little more covert about it, but Elsa was sharp as a tack. "Well, there is one thing that's been worrying me..."

The platinum blonde pulled away to look Anna in the eyes. "What?" She looked nervous.

Anna's heart raced. "Well, I don't really know how to say this, and this is- I- well, I haven't seen you eat."

Elsa looked like a deer in headlights. She twitched towards the door momentarily and Anna clasped the girl's hand in her own by reflex. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up, I- that's your choice, and I have _no _business asking about that and I'm sorry, Elsa."

The girl bowed her head and let her shoulders grow limp. The words sounded forced out of her mouth. "I've been... struggling with it."

Surprised by Elsa's willingness to talk, Anna questioned. "What do you mean?"

Elsa was shaking now. She hid her face even farther. She looked so scared, like she was about to faint. Anna felt like she herself was about to faint. "I've been- I've been-" the girl's crying was renewed suddenly. The red head took this moment to pull Elsa close once again.

The platinum blonde responded by once again hiding her face in Anna's neck and grabbing on with great vigor. She continued. "I've been to a counselor and I've been- I've worked on it and tried and I can't- I- I-" _She must have gone to the bathroom to spit out her food..._

"Shhh," Anna pulled Elsa closer, it at all possible. "It's okay, it's okay. I'll help you however I can."

Elsa sniffled into her crush's shirt. "You will?"

"Yes." She cradled to platinum blonde for however long was needed, making sure Elsa was going to be okay. In her head, she thought over what she knew about Elsa and tried to formulate the best way to help.

_She blames herself for her father's death, and has some sort of eating disorder; considering my fairly limited knowledge of the subject, I'm guessing Anorexia. _

_ But how do I fix something like that? I can't on my own, I need to get her to reach out to someone who can actually help her, a professional; I'll just be there for her, to support her. She already acknowledges that she has an eating disorder, which is good, that's a big step. _

As Anna thought, she couldn't help but get stuck in a link. She had a feeling that for some reason just wouldn't go away, but was based on no evidence. It was that the death of Elsa's father was related to her eating disorder somehow.

She made a mental pact with herself at that moment never to give up on Elsa and she knew she would never break it.


	7. My Mother

My original plan for this story was like 10k works but I think it might be closer to 30 or 40k... oh well, I love writing it!

* * *

"Hey, Anna." The strawberry blonde was pulled from her thoughts on Monday afternoon by Elsa's voice. She looked over to see the girl smiling and walking towards her.

"Elsa! Hi!" She quickly moved forward to hug Elsa.

The platinum blonde grinned to herself as she hugged Anna back.

After holding the hug for as long as she could without making it excessive, Anna pulled back, seamlessly linking her fingers into Elsa's. "You ready to go?"

With a nod, Elsa began to lead the way herself. Anna happily followed to her own car. She stepped in and started the engine.

The strawberry blonde parked on the familiar curb where she normally parked. The two girls got out and walked hand in hand to Elsa's mansion.

Their usual routine ensued, they ventured seemingly randomly through the house talking about whatever they desired. Elsa, for the most part, would listen to Anna ramble. To her credit, she talked much more than she had when they first met, and seemed much more at ease in front of Anna now. It was just her nature to be rather quiet.

_In fact, _Anna pondered, _she seems more at ease since she told me about her survivor's guilt and eating disorder... _

The realization made Anna smile from ear to ear, nearly splitting her face in two. Her heart sped and wiggled in place, she felt all fuzzy inside.

Hours went by and Anna was parched from all her talking and laughing. "I'm thirsty, can I have something to drink?"

Elsa's face immediately brightened. She held up a finger and quietly said "I'll be right back." Then she scampered off. _She sure is excited to get me some water... Wait, I didn't even tell her what I wanted! _

By the time Anna's brain had caught up and she was ready to recall Elsa, the girl magically appeared by her own accord. "Els- oh, you're right there."

The rich girl held out a cup of chocolate milk, smiling shyly at Anna.

"You got chocolate milk?" Anna was about to say "for me" but caught her tongue at the last second. Sure, before Elsa didn't have anything in the fridge except for water and celery and a couple other not chocolate milk products, but she couldn't go on assuming things. Nonetheless, the red head's cheeks matched her hair color for a few moments.

Elsa nodded. "For you. I know you love it."

Gratefully, Anna took the glass and, being extra careful not to spill the contents, pulled Elsa into a hug with the strength of a fully grown grizzly bear and the grace of a bull in a china shop. She was sure she heard the wind being knocked out of the girl. "Thank you so much!" Then, before she could stop herself, she carried on. "Do you want some? Oh, wait, I'm not trying to push you or anything, I would never try to do that and well I was just offering, not that you have to accept because, well, why would you, it's your chocolate milk anyway and you-"

The platinum blonde giggled at Anna's little rant, adorably covering up her mirth with her fingertips. She was clearly not distressed by the offer, which made Anna feel better. "It's okay, Anna, but I think I'll skip the chocolate milk."

_Great job, Anna, offer your extremely self conscious, probably anorexic uhhh, girlfriend-crush-unofficial-lady some sugar laced fat. Really super great. _

"I'm really sorry, Elsa, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, really." She seemed sincere in her words, so Anna took them to heart. "How about we sit down?"

Relieved, Anna said "okay." She sat down on the nearest couch, Elsa hesitated for no more than half a second, then plopped herself down _right _next to Anna, so their arms and knees were in contact, a tiny blush peppering her pale cheeks. It send a wave of warmth through the red head. She smiled and sipped her treat, grabbing Elsa's hand with her free hand.

The chocolate milk was delicious, and Anna made quick work of it. She let out a satisfied "ah" upon finishing the glass and placed it on the closest table. Then she licked her lips clean and turned to Elsa, who was looking at her and vibrating in place. The girl's knees were restless, her hands shook in place, tightly clutching her braided hair now. Anna wasn't sure, but she felt like those sky blue eyes had darted up from her lips when she looked over at Elsa.

That thought pushed Anna's own gaze downward just enough. Elsa's lips were pressed tightly together, but she could see their richness easily. They were almost red, and thick, enticing. Anna's mouth went try, her breath hitching and becoming shallow as her own lips filled with blood.

Just the _thought _of kissing Elsa made Anna's heart skip a few beats. She felt herself moving forward, pushed by some invisible force that knew the time was perfect.

As those luscious lips drew closer, breathing became even more impossible, it was impressive that anyone managed to keep it up for any amount of time, Anna certainly couldn't.

Elsa's shaking, uneven voice broke the stillness of the air. "I- I want t-to-"

"Shh, me too."

Gently, Anna reached her hand to rest on Elsa's back, they were just centimeters apart now, she could feel warm breath teasing her chin. Her heart caught in her throat momentarily, then an outside will bent her own, pushing her those last, precious inches.

Elsa's lips were soft and warm. Anna was sure she was about to faint, she could feel the room spinning around her and her head becoming light. Though she had only kissed one other person in her life and thus was inexperienced, Anna could tell that her crush was even less skilled in the subject.

The platinum blonde's lips were too stiff, not knowing the exact mechanics behind kissing, only the general idea.

It didn't ruin the moment for Anna, though. She held Elsa's vibrating body tenderly with her hand on the girl's mid back, her own torso unable to sit still for even a split second.

And then it ended. It was quick, clumsy, tense, exhilarating, teasing, and satisfying all at once. Anna's lips felt uncharacteristically cool after. "That was..." the red head trailed off.

As for Elsa, well, she looked like she was _really _having trouble staying conscious. She was twitching in place, a gigantic grin breaking her face, cheeks bright red and eyes trained on Anna. Before the red head knew it, her crush was leaning up against her.

It felt nice. Elsa rested her head against Anna's shoulder and curled into a ball. In response, Anna wrapped her arm around the platinum blonde's body and smiled with a burning hot blush trickling down her ears, face, and neck.

_I just kissed Elsa. _

_ I _kissed _Elsa. _

_ She kissed _me.

Anna was on cloud nine.

The girls stayed there on the couch for a long time, saying nothing but letting happy sighs break the silence every so often.

Finally, Anna gained enough control over her nerves to talk. "So, um, do you- do you want to go to a movie on Friday?"

Elsa shifted to be looking up at Anna. She was still smiling and the strawberry blonde had a hard time not exploding at how adorable she looked. The platinum blonde nodded.

"I'll pick you up at seven."

"Sounds perfect."

Just then, the horrible sound of a car engine arriving in the front and being cut off alerted Anna that it was time to go. She frowned, she hated that noise because it meant going home where she'd have to do her homework instead of hang out with Elsa. "I should-"

Elsa seemed to remember something, her eyes went wide. "Wait!"

"Yeah?"

The platinum blonde started fidgeting with her braid, sitting up from Anna and looking at the ground. "I want you to... stay and meet my mother?"

_That _took Anna by surprise. That was a huge step, and Elsa wanted to take it. "Are you sure? I mean I'm not really dressed well or anything and-" she was playing with one of her twin braids as she spoke.

Elsa nodded.

"O-okay, then I'll meet your mom!"

The wealthier girl stood, glancing over at the front door. "I just- there's one thing you should know before," she said hurriedly. "She's never been the same since..."

Anna's heart broke. "It's okay." She gave Elsa a reassuring pat on the shoulder and the platinum blonde looked as if she was preparing to speak again, but right then the front door swung open. The strawberry blonde bit her lip in nervousness.

Elsa went off to find her mother, unsure what to do, Anna trailed behind.

Right there, entering the house was a woman with straight, brown hair, it hung like woven silk. She was gorgeous, albeit tired. Anna instantly saw where Elsa got her impeccable looks. "Hi, mom."

The woman looked at her daughter, ignoring the greeting. She looked tired, her eyes were glazed. She frowned. "Elsa, what did I tell you about having people over?"

The platinum blonde held her ground, impressing Anna. "Mom, this- this is my... This is Anna." _Was she about to say 'girlfriend?' _The thought made the red head's heart skip a beat.

This earned a wary look from Elsa's mother as she eyed the strawberry blonde. "Why is she here?" The tone was harsh.

"She- we have been- we've been dating." Elsa finished her sentence with great haste, looking away from both other present parties.

On miss Arendelle's face there was a flash of anger, then dismay, disbelief, and finally relief. "Oh, Elsa," her tone of voice had changed drastically from just moments before. She hugged her daughter, who seemed dumbstruck by the action, her arms stiff by her own sides. She was clearly not expecting this reaction. "That's wonderful."

Anna was confused, she wanted to know _exactly _what was going on _right then. _But she didn't ask. She didn't want to push farther than she was welcome to. "Nice to meet you, miss Arendelle." The strawberry blonde held out her hand.

The woman took it and gave a weak hand shake. "Make my girl happy. But if you hurt her... ." She left the threat hanging. There were tears coming from her eyes now. She turned to leave, but hesitated momentarily then took a double take. "True love is hard to come by."

Anna shifted uncomfortably in place. "I will. Keep her happy, I mean." She remembered her promise to herself.

Then, Elsa was standing right beside her, still petrified by the unexpected results. Anna didn't know what was going on in the platinum blonde's head, but she sure did want to figure it out.

When the woman retired upstairs, Anna jumped on the opportunity. "Okay, what just happened?" She really hated being so blunt and pushy for answers, but she couldn't help it.

Elsa quickly grabbed her braid. Her eyes became misty even before she spoke. "She- I thought she didn't- didn't care about me."

Anna quickly hugged the girl where she stood. "But she does." _That was evident in her threat. _

She felt Elsa nod.

"Why did you think she doesn't?"

The platinum blonde started half talking, half sobbing. "She- she leaves every morning and- and when she comes back, she ignores me and goes to- to her room upstairs."

"Do you know where she goes every day?"

Elsa shook her head, still crying.

Anna squeezed the bony girl in her arms tighter. "Your mother loves you."

With a tiny nod and an even smaller voice, Elsa responded. "My mother loves me."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so what in the _heck _is going on with Miss Arendelle!? wait and see :P


	8. Not so Motherly

A/N: Super quick update, huh? That's because starting today I won't have any time to write until Monday. It was either get one chapter of this out and release A Summer to Remember chapter 28 really late or release both really late, I opted to put something up! So that means no updates will come to either story for about another week, so enjoy this!

* * *

After several minutes of just holding Elsa tight and letting cry on her shoulder, Anna spoke up gently. "What were you going to say?"

The platinum blonde pulled away slightly, focusing her shining blue orbs on Anna's. "What?"

"Just before your mom came in you opened your mouth like you were about to say something."

Elsa looked down. "It's nothing."

The red head tenderly placed her hand on the rich girl's cheek. "It's something."

A deep breath filled Elsa's lungs and she exhaled it towards the ground below her. "It- it doesn't matter anymore." Tears were still streaming down Elsa's cheeks.

Anna felt her heart sink slightly. "It does, talking will help."

The platinum blonde took another deep, strained breath. "I- I was- am scared of her."

Furrowing her brow, Anna asked "Why?"

Elsa shuffled in her spot, clamping her platinum braid of silken hair as tightly as her skinny arms would allow her. She practically whispered. "She blamed me for his- his..."

It was easy to understand where the girl was going. Anna reached out and, without moving Elsa's hands from her braid, placed her own hand on top of the girl's.

"She pushed me away, I was- I was alone. I am- I was c-completely al-alone." She started crying once again, so much pain was contained in her eyes.

Anna's heart once again shattered for this dear girl. But there was something else swimming inside. Heat in her blood- anger. At miss Arendelle. _How could someone push their own daughter away like that? She _made _Elsa believe it was her fault! _"Shh, it's okay, Elsa, I've got you, you have me now, you're not alone."

The girls hugged tightly for a long time.

When they parted, Anna's defensive mindset hadn't faded in the slightest. She was going to give Ms. Arendelle a piece of her mind. She made sure that Elsa was okay before pulling away from the embrace. "I'll be right back" she said as she turned and rolled up her sleeves.

"W-wait, Anna, don't," the platinum blonde pleaded.

"I have to tell her what she did was wrong."

Looking like she wanted to protest more, Elsa gave in. She said nothing. Anna felt a pang of regret as she walked away, but the steam running in her veins was far more insistent.

The strawberry blonde stormed upstairs, realizing once she got to the top that she had absolutely no idea where to go. Even the second floor of the house was gigantic, it alone probably had more square footage than Anna's entire home, and her father was fairly well-off. She bit her lip and looked in each possible direction. "Okay, where to now?" She whispered to herself.

Anna chose randomly: left. She stomped down the hallway. Elsa could most likely easily hear her exaggerated footsteps.

Well, the red head wandered that entire section of the house and there was no one to be found. She found her way back to the top of the stairs and went to the only other corridor. After a couple minutes of creepily poking her head in each room, she found it.

Anna swung open a random door, not expecting to actually find Elsa's mother; she was convinced the woman had melted into the walls somehow. But she was struck like a deer in headlights when she opened that door. Miss Arendelle was staring right back at her, just as startled as Anna was at the whole situation.

The red head took a moment. "Uhhh," but she finally got her bearings. "How dare you!?" The boiling blood had taken over again, controlling her rage and pointing it like an arrow at the woman in front of her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Anna was scarcely aware of the impressive volumes and octaves her voice was reaching. "You made her hate herself!"

"I- I was confused-"

"You still had no right!" The red head was about to explode at this women.

"I can explain!" Miss Arendelle was pushing her ground farther forward, recovering from the initial shock of being yelled at but still a little intimidated by Anna's forwardness.

"You'd better explain fast!" Arms were crossed in front of a heaving chest, twin braids resting on top of them, the coloring mirroring that of the fire licking at Anna's veins.

The older woman rubbed a hand over her bangs, sighing.

"Well?" Anna was tapping her foot now.

"I have no obligation to tell you, but... It seems as though you really do care for my daughter."

For some reason, that statement soothed some of the strawberry blonde's nerves a little. She kept up the charade, though. "I'm waiting."

"She- I- when my husband died, I- that was when my depression started. I blamed her-"

"Yeah, I know! That's the problem!"

"Listen!"

The abruptness of the tone startled Anna into submission. Although, the was indignant about it.

"After I- afterwords, I was scared, I thought- I thought- I don't know. I didn't know how to talk to her. I still don't."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "You didn't know how to talk... to your own _daughter_? How about 'hi, Elsa, sorry I've been such a _horrible _mother, but I just wanted to let you know that I didn't mean it and I love you and don't blame you.' How about 'hi, Elsa, how are you?' _Anything_ would have been better than just avoiding her because you were _'scared!'_" Anna put an unnecessary amount of emphasis on "scared," making air quotes with her fingers.

Miss Arendelle got defensive. "Don't talk to me that way, young lady!" She was about to continue, but was interrupted by the strawberry blonde.

Anna was running on angry vapors, clouding her brain, she was furious. Everything that Elsa's mother had just said made the red head angrier, it was pathetic. _Scared, if I did that every time I got scared... _"Or else what!? You're gonna _ignore_ me? It seems to be the only thing you know how to do!"

This struck a chord in the woman. Her face went from shock to complete and utter defeat in seconds. She slumped. "You're right," she sniffled, "that is all I know how to do. All I can do is run, I'm a coward."

Anna was tempted to spit back "I'll say," or something along those lines but she held her tongue. She opted instead to continue on listening.

"That's why I leave every day. I don't know how to look at her, she probably hates me, I know that, I deserve it for what I've done. That's why I gamble my life away."

"Wouldn't you have run out of money after nine years of gambling?" Anna didn't know where the question came from. It was absurdly random, but it was there like an uninvited stranger.

The older woman seemed not to even notice how out of context the inquiry was. She shook her head. "I pay just enough to sit at the table, barely any money. Not enough to make a difference, anyway. I just gamble as a distraction from life..."

"Oh." Then, the on-topic sector of the strawberry blonde's brain finally kicked in. "Why didn't you get help?"

"I- I didn't think I needed help- that is, I didn't want to accept that I needed help. But when I saw Elsa's depression double up with self loathing and anorexia, I ordered help for her. Psychologists and counselors came to the house but nothing worked. Her problems didn't get any better."

_That explains how Elsa got help. _The platinum blonde was certainly not the kind of person that would go find a counselor on her own. _She has to know that it was her mother that send those people to help her... _

Anna's rage had boiled down, lightly simmering away and vanishing as she learned more and more. She pondered all she had learned. _Elsa and her mother have been stuck in a game of cat and mouse trying to tell one another they care... for nine years. But neither had the courage to actually speak up... _That must have been miserable. Anna decided that that was worse than any Hell she had ever read or heard about. _And Elsa has lived it. _"I'm sorry I yelled," she whispered.

"I would have, too."

Anna locked eyes with the woman momentarily before nodding and turning to take her leave. She returned downstairs to Elsa.

* * *

_**Friday. **_

"So, you are you and Anna official yet?"

Elsa blushed and very quietly replied. "I'm not sure."

Kristoff looked blank. "You don't know? Have you two kissed?" He even stopped munching on his carrot in shock. Sven stole it without the slightest hesitation, a silly look of victory on his face.

Elsa had started sitting with Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf at lunch. She never ate, but no one ever commented on that. It was a nice change from sitting alone. Actually it was infinitely better. Anna's three less popular friends were almost unrealistically friendly, and Kristoff understood her need for space since he was mostly a loner, too. He had made sure Olaf didn't go overboard with the hugs. For that, Elsa was grateful.

Anna had wandered off to go say hi to Hans, Rapunzel, and Flynn. Elsa didn't particularly like any of those three, especially Hans, but she really didn't now why, none of them seemed to be horrible people. Maybe because she naturally tended to avoid people and they were all so extroverted that it made her physically cringe. _Well, Anna is extroverted... _

It was just something about them that Elsa didn't like... Either way, she opted not to go with Anna to say hello to them. _I should have gone with her, I miss her._

"Hello? You in there?"

Elsa was brought back to the land of the living by Kristoff's voice. She felt the entire room heat up with her blush.

Luckily, Anna got back right at that moment. The platinum blonde let out a sigh of relieve. _Saved by the bell. _On top of Kristoff's awkward questions, even though it wasn't even five minutes that Anna was gone, the blonde had started to feel separation anxiety. She always did when she wasn't with Anna.

"I'm back, what'd you guys talk about?" The red head took her place next to Elsa, lacing their fingers together. The contact made Elsa melt like ice cream on a summer day. Her heart fluttered about and she squeezed her hand into Anna's even more.

"Nothing," the platinum blonde said.

Anna smiled at her and must have seen her blush. She turned to Kristoff and playfully rolled her eyes. "Kristoff, what'd you do?"

* * *

That night, Anna was with Elsa on their planned movie date. She was sitting by her blonde crush cozily. Anna's arm was around Elsa's shoulders, the arm rest between them pushed up so that the wealthier girl could cuddle up against Anna. It was adorable. The red head enjoyed every second of it, tracing gentle patterns on the sleeve of Elsa's light blue, very thin jacket.

The red head hummed in delight, taking a bite of her popcorn with her free hand. She felt Elsa shift her head. Anna looked down to meet deep, navy blue eyes. She couldn't tell for sure, but there may have been some red on those perfectly smooth and freckle-speckled cheeks. She swallowed her food. "Yes?"

Elsa held her gaze for a couple moments, then spoke, barely making her voice audible. "Are we, um, official?"

Anna smiled a little while her stomach filled with butterflies. Her cheeks grew hot. "Is that what Kristoff was asking about while I was gone at lunch?"

Elsa nodded.

The red head leaned in slowly and pressed a light, warm kiss on Elsa's lips. She swore she'd never get tired of that feeling. The platinum blonde had such soft, warm, and supple lips. She still wasn't great at kissing but it was something that Anna wanted to work on with her _a lot. _Anna pulled away from the kiss and whispered to her now girlfriend. "Now we are."

Yep, Elsa's cheeks were definitely red.


	9. Dinner

A/N: I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. But here it is now! For those of you interested: I have finished writing chapter 28 of "A Summer to Remember" and only have to edit it. It should be up tomorrow morning.

-**This chapter begins the day after chapter 8 ends**-

"I'll be right here when you're done, okay, Elsa?" Anna turned to Elsa before taking a seat in the waiting room. It was the first day of winter break, a Saturday afternoon. Anna had driven Elsa to her first counseling session and promised to wait in the waiting room for her. This seemed to make the whole thing easier for Elsa. She was to meet with her counselor on Saturday and Wednesday afternoons for one hour each time.

The blonde crossed her arms across her stomach and looked down uneasily. "Okay."

Anna took a step forward, resting her hand on the shoulder of her girlfriend's light blue sweatshirt. "It'll be okay, Elsa." She brought the girl in for a hug, which Elsa returned, squeezing tightly. "I wish I could come in with you, but I'll be right here if you need me, okay?"

Elsa nodded into the embrace, light tears starting to speckle her cheeks.

"Elsa Arendelle?"

The strawberry blonde pulled back and patted her girlfriend's back reassuringly. She wiped a tear from a smooth, pale cheeks. "I know you're scared, but I believe in you. She's here to help."

Once again, Elsa affirmed with a motion of her head. She slowly and timidly stepped towards the woman who had just called her name.

"Right this way, please." Sky blue eyes made one more take over their owner's shoulder to meet Anna's eyes. The red head smiled and waved Elsa off.

Then waited.

For exactly fifty-three minutes. She put away her game of "Flappy Bird" when a shadow approached. She looked up to see Elsa's relieved face. "How'd it go?"

Elsa smiled. It lifted Anna's heart. "It went- It actually went well."

* * *

A week and a half later, it was the Wednesday of Elsa's fourth appointment. After the third session it seemed that there was real, actual progress being made, though it was just a feeling; Anna had nothing to show for it.

But that didn't matter. _It's working. I can _feel _it when I'm around Elsa. _

She was more self-confident, that's for sure.

On top of that, Elsa's mother had decided to go get help with her own internal issues. After over a week of actually seeing the woman and getting to know her a little bit better, Anna realized that she wasn't all that bad of a person.

Actually, she seemed like a good person who just got way too lost to find her own way back. She was talking to Elsa, slowly making more and more conversation with her daughter. It made the strawberry blonde smile every time. Things seemed to be just starting the process of getting better.

It was wonderful.

In fact, she kind of liked Elsa's mom. When you got passed the whole rejected-her-own-daughter-for-years-on-end thing, she was really nice. But Anna knew that whole thing was a big mess, and even though there was some blame to be placed, not everything could just be dumped onto Miss Arendelle. That wasn't fair.

Anyway, Anna was now bidding Elsa farewell for the next hour and preparing to take out her phone to goof on, playing "Flappy Bird," and endeavor she knew was destined to end poorly with her most likely yelling at the infernal device. But man was that game addicting.

Elsa wasn't at all reluctant to follow her counselor this time.

And so Anna sat for an hour. Her blood rushing and boiling as she tried to get that stupid bird to move in a way that was even moderately sensible, Then, Anna heard footsteps. Her anger instantly washed away, replaced by smiles, when she saw Elsa standing there.

"Hey! Looks like it went well!" Anna jumped up to her feet.

Elsa shuffled in place. "Do you, um, do you want to go out to dinner tonight?"

_Yes yes yes yes yes! _"Um, er, dinner? Not a movie? As in, like, a restaurant dinner?"

With coloring cheeks, the platinum blonde shyly nodded.

Anna's heart skipped a beat or ten. "Oh, um, okay, yes, that sounds wonderful!" _Dinner, is Elsa just gonna watch me- wait why would she just want to watch me eat? That's kinda weird. _The red head was subconsciously furrowing her brow. She was putting way too much thought into this.

Nonetheless, Anna grabbed Elsa's hand and they made their way to the car together, fingers intertwined as they should be.

"Okay, where are we going?"

"We'll need to get changed."

Anna gulped. "Sounds fancy?"

Elsa nodded with a smile on her face. She still looked nervous.

* * *

Anna wore the nicest dress she owned. It had a black top with a leafing pattern over her chest and a striped and patterned green bottom. She fixed her hair from her normal pigtails into a neat bun. She donned an overcoat designed to match the dress _and _make it stand up to chilly weather. It didn't work all that well for the latter purpose, but it really looked amazing!

The entire time she was getting ready, all Anna could think was _what kind of place demands this kind of dress? Why does Elsa suddenly want to go to dinner rather than a movie? Why does she want to watch me eat?_

The red head was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that she had left the house. She darted back in with a chuckle and yelled to her dad that she was going on a date with Elsa.

He said to have fun, but not too much fun. Anna blushed and slammed the door behind her.

Elsa was wearing a regal looking dress, fit for a queen, or something like that. It was dark blue-ish-teal, quite a pleasing color. Anna took in the gentle curvature of Elsa's body under the loose hanging of the dress, the satin fabric hugging the wealthier girl just the right amount so as to not be inappropriate but show off at the same time. Her hair was still in her braid, hands clutched to it. _Wowow, I am never going to get used to the sight of Elsa in a new dress! _

Anna realized she had been staring and shook her head, replacing her slightly hung open mouth with a smile. "You look so amazing, Elsa!"

There was no response. Ice blue eyes were scrutinizing Anna with the intensity of a high-energy laser beam. The strawberry blonde could practically feel the lines that her girlfriend was tracing over her body. Her entire face and chest heated up a little too much and Anna fanned herself off. She was _not _used to being admired like that. Admired, yes, but not so _closely. _

Anna managed to gain control of herself and grin. She pulled Elsa into a kiss, which clearly shocked the blonde. It was warm and the thick, red, slightly cool lips heated up rapidly as they scrambled to match up with Anna's.

"You can't just _ignore _my compliment like that, Elsa," Anna teased.

Looking satisfyingly embarrassed, the platinum blonde shuffled in her spot and gripped her braid tighter. "S-sorry, I just- you look- you look gorgeous." Her cheeks were a rich, velvet red.

"Well, thank you. Shall we, madam?" Anna held her arm out in a pretend-fancy way, cheeks red.

Elsa released her hair from her death grip and slipped her arm through Anna's. "We shall."

"You still haven't told me where we're going." The strawberry blonde deadpanned once they were in the car.

the platinum blonde gestured with her hand as she spoke. "Go that way."

"Now where?"

"Left. No, your other left, Anna."

And so it went just about like that for the entirety of the car ride, which couldn't have been more than twenty minutes. Upon their arrival, Anna found herself pulling up to a _really _fancy restaurant. Like, so fancy that she had no hope of even trying to pronounce or spell that name, which looked to be French. Or Italian. Or something, Anna didn't know. It must have been the fanciest restaurant in the state or country or world or something.

It looked like a castle. A fancy castle. A castle that was too shiny for its own good. Anna's mouth was agape and she couldn't bring herself to force even the tiniest utterance out of her mouth.

Elsa seemed unphased, though. She easily stood and walked around to open Anna's still shut door.

Anna allowed her date to escort her into the building, still dumbfounded by the immaculate structure. Tables were private, sectioned off, each with their own, dimly lit glass chandelier.

And walking inside wasn't any easier. The place was insane. It was... suspicious. "Oh, wow... hey, wait, Elsa, is there some big thing I'm missing? Because this is a, like, the-most-special-occasion-in-your-life kind of place."

The platinum blonde just smiled. Anna could tell there was something hidden behind those eyes. "Arendelle for two."

The hostess quickly looked down at her list. "Right this way, please." Then they were walking. Well, Elsa was. Anna was still stunned. The platinum blonde giggled and went back to grab Anna's hand, guiding her.

"Hey, wait, when did you make reservations?" They were taking a seat at their table now. More accurately, they were getting cozy next to each other in their private booth.

"While I was with my counselor."

"Okay, now I'm confused." _So she wants to watch me eat super fancy food. What's going on!? _

Again, Elsa didn't respond, save for a small smile. Anna shook herself off, she was determined to enjoy this. _I just hope she isn't expecting me to be able to afford this... _

"Elsa, are you gonna explain yourself?" Okay, so the strawberry blonde had lasted three minutes before breaking down and asking.

"Yes."

Anna's heart jumped. _Finally. _Before she could press the matter, however, a waiter trotted up to the table. Elsa shrank in her seat, she seemed to be having a minor panic attack. A worried and completely lost Anna scooted over to squeeze Elsa's hand. The gesture seemed to help a little bit.

"What would you two ladies like to drink?"

After a moment of silence, Anna realized Elsa was in no place to speak. "Um, uh, water for both of us." _Best to just keep it simple. _Was Elsa nervous because of the food? Anna had eaten around her before, it never seemed to be much of a problem. Maybe the counseling was counterproductive. Which made no sense, if it was, why did Elsa seem, in general, happier?

"Would you two like any appetizers today?"

Anna, distracted by her girlfriend who now seemed to be arguing with herself internally turned to decline the offer. "No, I don't-"

"W-wait." Anna hadn't heard Elsa sound that scared since she first met her. She furrowed her brow, all she could think about was whether or not Elsa was okay.

"Elsa?"

"I- I want-"

The strawberry blonde gave a strained glace to the man waiting on them. He looked thoroughly confused by the whole thing. So was Anna. "It's okay, Elsa, I don't know what's going on, but it's okay." She hugged the platinum blonde.

"The salad."

Anna was stunned by ten thousand bolts. She held her breath. _I did hear that right? _She looked at Elsa, blue eyes looking back at her, scared.

Then, Anna understood.

She squealed and tightened her grip around her girlfriend. "You ordered! Elsa, that's why you wanted to get dinner isn't it? That's what you talked to your counselor about today!"

The platinum blonde nodded into the hug. "I said I think I'm ready to- to try again. She suggested that I make it a special occasion with only the person I trust most."

Anna was going to cry- oh wait, she was already crying. She sniffled through her happily wet eyes and cheeks, her heart gushing affection. "I'm so proud of you, Elsa. So, so proud."

"I haven't eaten anything yet."

_But at least she said "yet." _"It doesn't matter, it's at least one step in the right direction. You can do this."

The stressful seriousness of the moment seemed to dissipate, replaced by tenderness. Elsa boldly leaned forward and pressed her lips against Anna's. The red head reciprocated immediately. "Thank you," Elsa said as she pulled away from the kiss.

"Of course," Anna smiled.

Soon enough, the platinum blonde's appetizer arrived. A house salad. It had cherry tomatoes, lettuce, a few croutons, and some sort of vinaigrette dressing. Anna bit her lip, watching Elsa eye the food. The paler girl was trembling, Anna knew her well enough to know she was debating with herself. "Hey," the strawberry blonde said, placing a hand gently on Elsa's shoulder. "It's okay. You're so strong, and I'm right here for you, whatever you do."

The platinum blonde leaned into the touch. "I- I don't know if I can..."

"Are you two ladies ready to order-"

"Hey! Can't you see we're having a moment here?" Anna snapped at the waiter a little too harshly. She game him a quick apologetic look and watched him scamper off, then returned her attention to Elsa, who now had tears just beginning to soil her cheeks. "You've made it this far, that's already an improvement. You've already proven yourself to be strong. I believe in you, but I'm not going to push you."

Ice blue eyes glistening with the pain of self loathing and conflict met Anna's. The strawberry blonde gave an encouraging nod. Elsa swallowed hard as she reached a trembling hand out to her fork, grabbing it tightly. She then dropped the instrument and retracted her hands, shortly thereafter taking it once again. She jabbed a tomato and leaf of lettuce with the utensil and once again looked at her girlfriend.

"Only if you're ready."

Elsa nodded. "I am." She looked at the fork, then closed her eyes. Anna's hand never left it's place on her shoulder. She couldn't help but take that moment to _really _feel how bony Elsa was. She was really, _really _bony.

Then, the platinum blonde opened up her mouth. The strawberry blonde's heart stopped and the world slowed down. _She's gonna do it! She's gonna eat! _

Elsa bit down, taking the food into her mouth and chewing is slowly and deliberately. She was still shaking. The moment was silent.

Then, the air was pierced with a well-known Anna-squeal. "Elsa! You did it! You did it!" She hugged her girlfriend as tight as her muscles would allow, pressing her entire body up against the girl.

And Anna knew, she knew that this was just the first step. She knew that Elsa was most likely going to feel heavily guilty for eating, especially at a restaurant. She knew that there was still a lot of work to be done. She knew all that, but it wasn't just a step in the right direction, no, it was a full leap.

* * *

A/N: I know, just a bite of _salad? _Well, yes, someone with a severe case of Anorexia Nervosa would feel guilt at eating anything, especially at a restaurant. I have very close personal experience with eating disorders, Elsa's reaction was just about as realistic as I could make it (but it is far from perfectly realistic, mind you.)

I hope this chapter was worth the wait!


	10. Progress

A/N: So here it is after a super long wait. Two more chapters of this wonderful story, and then an epilogue. And don't worry, this isn't gonna be one of those "you decide" endings, it'll be cut and dry what happens to them, especially with the epilogue.

On a side note, I'm starting work on a Halloween themed one-shot. It will be canon, taking place post-Frozen and will be nice and fluffy and maybe some scary parts, and, of course, smut ;) Look out for that, I'll be posting it on Halloween morning!

Enjoy some fluff, now! I command you!

* * *

There was a week until Christmas, and Anna desperately needed to get Elsa something. Something good. No, good wouldn't cut it, she needed the _perfect _present.

But what in the world could she get her? Elsa was rich, rolling in money like a pig in mud, she could buy anything she wanted at a whim. On top of that, the platinum blonde kept insisting that Anna didn't need to get her anything. That meant it had to be something unique, something that only Anna could give her.

_But what? _

This dilemma was bad, really bad. Anna honestly had no clue what to get for Elsa.

"Anna?"

"Huh?" The strawberry blonde was pulled out of her thoughts by her girlfriend's voice.

"Are you alright?"

"Wha- yeah, I'm fine, just got distracted."

Elsa smiled. "About what?"

"Oh you know, stuff."

The platinum blonde dropped it at that, opting to tease Anna rather than press the matter. She probably had a good idea of what Anna was thinking about, anyway. "You're good at that."

"Hey!" The red head giggled and bumped up against Elsa lightly. They were outside on a walk, fingers intertwined. It was a good different, just walking outside with Elsa rather than sitting inside. Anna suspected that the reason the other girl agreed to a walk was because it was, in fact, snowing out.

And Elsa loved the snow.

_Just like I love her- oh whoa. _The thought was sudden, catching Anna off guard. Was this a realization? Anna looked over to her girlfriend. She analyzed all the things Elsa made her feel, like she was on top of the world, like only she mattered, the happiest anyone can be. In that moment, Anna was pretty sure she loved Elsa_. _After all, it's not like it was a feeling she suddenly got, it had been building steadily for the months they knew each other.

"Hey, do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna was once again pulled out of la-la land by Elsa's voice.

The red head didn't even think about it, her eyes lit right up. "Yes, I do!"

The strawberry blonde giggled and pulled Elsa by the glove into a nearby field. The two labored giddily at the frozen white powder, Anna rolling a nearly perfect sphere of snow while the platinum blonde worked over a less formed ball for the base of the snowman.

Anna kept building onto her piece and it was eventually large enough to be a torso. Elsa was now having trouble keeping her massive ball of snow rolling, so the red head sprang up and pushed with her.

Together they finished the base of the snowman and lifted the middle piece to rest atop it.

"Okay, now you roll another ball of snow and I'll go find some rocks to use as eyes and stuff," Anna commanded.

Grinning like an idiot, Elsa obliged, working over another sphere of powdered ice to just the right size. She carefully placed it to form a nearly completed snowman and looked around, quickly locating two sticks suitable for use as arms. Elsa jabbed them in place and watched contentedly as Anna approached with a handful of rocks.

They each put some into the snowman's face and stepped back to admire their handiwork. "I think we did fantastic, how about you, El- oof!" The strawberry blonde's face met the inside of a snowball and melodic laughter tickled her ear drums.

"Hey!" Anna bent over to create her own ammunition and a war soon engaged. Trees and the snowman were used as cover as the girls laughed and pelted each other repeatedly.

After a little while, both were out of breath and happily panting in place, sitting on the ground next to each other. Anna laid back, looking up at the cloudy sky, analyzing the drifting snowflakes in the air. She felt Elsa's body lay down right next to her and her smiled deepened.

_Yup, I'm pretty sure I'm in love. _

The two arrived back at Elsa's abode, where the platinum blonde immediately ran off to the kitchen, making her girlfriend a steaming mug of hot cocoa. She herself was not having any. She was eating a little more, but still not enough. However, it was clear as day to Anna that the therapy was working. Elsa was getting better.

It made Anna's heart feel warm.

She gratefully took the offering. "Thank you." She leaned in and gave Elsa a kiss on the lips, and it was apparent that Elsa was smiling into the kiss.

"You're welcome," she replied after they pulled away. The platinum blonde lead Anna to the couch where they sat.

Anna and her girlfriend discarded their jackets and left their shoes by the door. The strawberry blonde took a seat by the armrest so she could place her mug on the side table when needed. Elsa, to Anna's delight, took her normal position squashed up against the red head's side, heading leaning on her shoulder.

"You know," Anna purred, "you still haven't told me what you want for Christmas."

"I told you, you don't need to get me anything."

"But I _want _to get you something."

"Well, I'm not asking for anything from you."

Anna huffed. "You're impossible."

Elsa chuckled.

This was getting nowhere. She had a week. _One week. _"I'm gonna get you something whether you like it or not." This earned another giggle from Elsa. Anna gave her a playful slap on the shoulder. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Just, I l- I really like you." The platinum blonde's face turned a deep red and she instantly turned away, her hands latching on to her braid for safety.

_Did she almost just say the "L" word?- no, no way. Did she? _Anna's heart rate picked up. She had to push the thought out of her mind for now, she'd ponder the subject when the object of her affection wasn't right next to her and hiding her face. The red head quickly kissed Elsa on the lips to get her attention. "Well, I really like _you_."

This visibly relaxed Elsa. The girl shined her bright blue orbs up at Anna and returned her head to the strawberry blonde's shoulder, a grin on her face.

Anna took a sip of her hot chocolate. It was still warm and mouth-wateringly amazing as it pleasured her taste buds with it's bittersweet mix. "Mmm, this is so good! How'd you make it?"

A trace of pink returned to Elsa features. "I got some Belgian chocolate for it. For you."

That welcomed, lovely fuzzy feeling returned to Anna's gut and warmed her heart once again. That one that made her feel like she was the most important person in the world. The one that only Elsa made her feel. "Well, it's perfect, thank you."

Elsa pushed her head upwards and gave her girlfriend a tender kiss on the cheek. "You're welcome."

The girls sat there just relaxing and enjoying each other's company for a little while longer. Soon enough, the sound of the front door opening broke the comfortable silence. Except now it wasn't dreaded, it didn't mean that Anna had to rush out.

Elsa's mother had been working on her gambling addiction. She was trying to fix what had happened, to once again have a good relationship with her daughter. And it was working, slowly but surely. Elsa was still timid near the woman, but nine years of pain and suffering doesn't just disappear in the blink of an eye, all three of them understood that.

She was still gambling, but less and less. The plan was for her to slowly eat away at the time she spent gambling and eventually be completely rid of the addiction. Now she came home earlier and earlier each week.

Anna, for her part, had really warmed up to Ms. Arendelle, growing to actually like the woman and vise verse. She turned on the couch and smiled. "Hi, girls," miss Arendelle called out when she saw them.

Without getting up, Elsa gave a small smile. "Hi, mom."

"Hey, miss Arendelle!" Anna waved.

"Anna, will you be joining us for dinner?"

The strawberry blonde smiled, her teal eyes brightening the entire room. "Yes, I would love to!"

Miss Arendelle smiled warmly. "Wonderful, I'll call you both when it's ready."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, the three of them were sitting around a table with a wide assortment of food. Each item was healthy, as Miss Arendelle was extremely supportive of her daughter's recovery. It was much easier for Elsa to eat a bit of healthy food, she wouldn't go near anything that was considered even moderately unhealthy. For this reason, there was an assortment of sliced fruit, steamed whole vegetables, some lean meet (though Anna and Miss Arendelle knew that Elsa would steer clear of that for now) and some low fat yogurt.

Anna watched with a huge smile as Elsa carefully served herself a few slices of fruit and a very small portion of vegetables.

Elsa's mother, along with Anna, each served themselves some chicken and vegetables, the red head's mouth watering at just the thought of food. On top of that, Anna took some pieces of fruit. She wasted no time in digging in.

Anna did, however, keep an eye on Elsa. Not to be nosy or anything, she simply wanted to make sure the platinum blonde was alright. It was still frequent that Elsa would become self conscious or be unable to bring herself to eat and end up becoming distressed. That is why Anna started with her vegetables and fruit, it was easier for Elsa to eat when she was consuming the same foodstuffs.

Watching as the platinum blonde timidly ate bits of some honeydew melon, Anna wore a stupid grin. Elsa was coming so far with her eating disorder and depression. Sure she was only eating once a day, but she was eating. She was getting better. It made Anna feel all warm and wiggly inside as she devoured her own meal.

A pleasant silence hung around the air for a large portion of the meal. It was broken by Miss Arendelle. "So what'd you girls do today?"

With a smile, Anna squeaked "we went on a walk and built a snowman! It was so much fun!"

The woman smiled. "Elsa used to love to build snowmen when she was little, she's always loved the snow." She and her daughter made eye contact and a grin tugged at the girl's lips.

"I still do," she quietly said.

"And apparently she like surprising people with sudden snowballs to the face, too." Elsa blushed.

"Is that so?" Miss Arendelle feigned shock.

"Yup, she pelted me right in the face just as we finished the snowman." Anna glared playfully at her girlfriend, who's entire face was ruby red now.

A laugh rang through the air from Elsa's mother. "She would do that when she was little, too; wait until me or her father was unsuspecting, then lug a snowball right at us."

Anna watched Elsa carefully. The girl's face showed signs of pain at the mention of her father, but those features eventually subsided into a smile as she looked down. Anna couldn't tell if that smile was faked just yet, though.

After dinner, it was time for the strawberry blonde to head home. She hugged Elsa tight. "I'll see you in a couple days." She pulled her head back, and right there, in front of Miss Arendelle, Anna gave her girlfriend a goodbye kiss on the lips and lingered for a few moments. It was slow and sweet.

"Okay. Bye, Anna."

"Bye, Elsa." She smiled happily at her significant other, then turned to walk to her car, which was parked on the driveway.

Miss Arendelle called after her. "Oh, Anna," she started.

"Yeah?" The girl spun around in the spot, not even having cleared the front steps.

"Would you and your father like to come and have Christmas dinner with me and Elsa?"

With a face splitting grin, Anna excitedly replied. "Yes! We'd love to!"

* * *

A/N: Comments, questions, concerns, or angers? Leave 'em below!


	11. The Present

A/N: I know what you're thinking: you waited this long and only get a 1,300 word update? My answer is yes.

One more chapter before the epilogue, we're almost there! It kinda makes me really sad :( You guys are all awesome. I'm not done writing about this perfect ship after this story and A Summer to Remember come to their ends, I'm going to start a story that is a compilation of one shots, the prompts will be determined by request, so look out for that, I don't know what I'll name it.

Also, on Halloween I'll be releasing a Halloween themed, canon one shot of these two :)

* * *

_Presents. I need presents... But I still have no idea what to get her... _

Anna exhaled a frustrated breath. There were only six days until Christmas and she had been wandering each and every store for hours looking for the perfect gift. She was breaking no new ground, nothing that even kind of seemed like a good gift had presented its self. _Just like every other time I've tried to go Christmas shopping for her. _

"Kristoff, help," she whined.

"I'm trying, but I don't really know Elsa all that well." The burly blonde was clearly not trying his hardest to help Anna out. The girl huffed once more.

What does one get for someone like Elsa? Someone who's impossible to describe with mere words? Anna didn't know, all she knew was that it had to be special. She was about to give up and try again the next day when she had an idea.

The strawberry blonde's eyes lit up as she spotted a plain, smooth, light blue sweater with fairly thick stitching on a rack on the other side of the store she was in. She rapidly attacked her friend's arm. "Ooh, look at that! It's perfect... almost!"

"Huh?" A confused Kristoff turned to see what was to him a plain blue sweater. "Okay, yeah, looks great."

Anna rolled her eyes. "You could at least _pretend _to be excited." She didn't allow him time to respond. Instead, the girl trotted over to the article of clothing in question.

The sweater alone wouldn't do, but with a little personal modification it would be perfect. Blue was Elsa's favorite color, and Anna knew exactly what she was going to add to the piece of clothing. _I'll just have to try my hand at sewing... _The red head chuckled at herself, greatly relieved that she finally had something to get Elsa.

She purchased the sweater at reasonably ridiculous price for the holiday seasons and was merrily on her way to buy a needle and thread.

"Wait, where are we going now? I thought you just bought Elsa's gift...?"

Anna only laughed as she continued on, the burly blonde following in suit. In the next store, she picked out a white spool of thread that was as close as possible to the thread used to create the sweater.

"Oh, I think I know what you're gonna do. Clever." Kristoff smiled at Anna, crossing his tree trunk-like arms over his chest.

"Oh yeah? What am I gonna do?"

"Easy, you'll, uh, sew something into the sweater."

Anna rolled her eyes with a grin. "Not just anything, a snowflake."

"A... snowflake?"

The red head had her reasons. Elsa liked the cold and absolutely adored the snow. It was adorable when they'd walk in the snow together, the platinum blonde's eyes would widen as the white powdery substance collected around them. It was like she was witnessing magic, the light of wonder prevalent in those sky blue orbs.

Looking Kristoff in the eyes, Anna proudly nodded and hummed "mhm."

"Alright," the boy shrugged.

* * *

Once she had released Kristoff from the clutches of having to Christmas shop with her, Anna hunkered down to learn how in the world she was going to accomplish this project.

This involved sitting in a blanket on the couch, getting cozy, and watching videos on how to sew on Youtube.

_This is going to take a while... _The girl's thoughts were interrupted by her father arriving home from work. Before Mr. Summers had the chance to say anything, his daughter remembered the previous night and was shouting over to him. "Oh, by the way, we're kinda having dinner with the Arendelles on Christmas!"

The man hardly seemed phased by this. He did like Elsa, and she was making his daughter happy, who was he to complain? "Sounds good. Saves me from having to cook something," he laughed.

Anna giggled as her father came over to see what she was doing.

"Sewing, huh?"

The red head suddenly felt self conscious and curled up, red burning in her cheeks. "It's to personalize the sweater I bought for Elsa."

Mister Summers nodded approvingly. "Watchya gonna put on it?"

With a grin, Anna replied "A snowflake!"

Letting out a faked breath of concern, the man shot back "okay, crazypants, I'm gonna go make dinner."

"Hey! I'm not _that _crazy!"

* * *

After dinner it was right back to her project for Anna. She had all the materials set out and planned on getting at least a start that night. She meticulously planned out where she would add the thread, printing off a snowflake design and tracing it onto the fabric, with a washable marker of course.

She was going to make this look amazing. Anything less wouldn't be good enough for Elsa.

Anna's mind wandered to her girlfriend, a dopey smile creeping up on her face. Normally, putting this much effort into one thing would be utterly exhausting, but it was for Elsa. That simple fact made it not feel like work at all, but rather made stitching in the snowflake pattern on the sweater kind of _fun_.

After two hours straight of sewing, Anna figured it was time for a break to hunt down some chocolate. The strawberry blonde stealthily infiltrated the kitchen, stealing away two Hershey's chocolate bars while pretending she was a ninja. Her ruse came crashing down when she tripped and landed with a thump against the counter, dropping her precious cargo. "Ouch!"

"Stealing from your own chocolate stash again?"

Anna's cheeks burned bright red at the sound of her dad's voice. "Um, no!"

The man raised an eyebrow at the bars of candy on the floor.

The girl defended herself playfully. "What are you doing down here anyway, usually you're in your study working."

"I came down to catch the thief in my kitchen."

Anna giggled and surrendered, rubbing her ribs where she took be blunt of her impact. "You got me," she said sheepishly.

Taking on a more serious look, the man continued. Anna's heart stopped, thinking she was in trouble, even though she hadn't actually done anything wrong. "I came back down to talk to you about Elsa."

That didn't help at all. Anna gulped. "What about her?"

Mister Summers sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I'm not great with this, but well, I just wanted to tell you-"

_Well, I guess I know where I get my awkward rambling from. _"Dad!"

"Okay, okay. Well, since you've been dating her you've been- you've been happier. You were always happy, but it's noticeable and just- just whatever you feel for her, make sure she knows, okay? Don't keep secrets, they will be your downfall."

Anna's brain took a moment to catch up, and once it did it pelted her heart with memories of the previous day. The man was nodding to himself, mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done when Anna just barely breathed a confession out. "I- I think I love her."

The strawberry blonde looked up to meet her father's eyes. Her own were tearing, burning as her heart pounded heavily in her chest, nearly breaking her ribs. She was scared he'd be mad. On top of that, it was the first verbal admittance of her feelings towards Elsa.

Her father seemed to pick up on Anna's nervousness, the feeling almost palpable in the air. With deep sincerity he soothed his daughter by gently placing his hand on her shoulder and saying "then tell her."

* * *

A/N: Thank you all so much! Until chapter 12 :)


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